I/o connector configured for cable connection to a midboard

ABSTRACT

An I/O connector assembly configured for making a cabled connection to an interior portion of a printed circuit board for signals passing through the connector. The assembly may include a receptacle connector, a cage and cables, terminated to conductive elements of the terminal subassemblies, extending through the cage to the midboard. The terminal subassemblies may have first type conductive elements configured for mounting to the printed circuit board and second type conductive elements configured for terminating cables. Features may be included for precise positioning of the receptacle connector formed with the terminal subassemblies relative to the cage such that connector to connector variation in the positioning of the contact portions of the conductive elements in the terminal subassembly is provided. A mating plug may be designed with low wipe, which improves high frequency performance of the mated connector system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Application Serial No.17/535,425, filed on Nov. 24, 2021, entitled “I/O CONNECTOR CONFIGUREDFOR CABLE CONNECTION TO A MIDBOARD,” which is a continuation of U.S.Application Serial No. 16/750,967, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,189,943, filedon Jan. 23, 2020, entitled “I/O CONNECTOR CONFIGURED FOR CABLECONNECTION TO A MIDBOARD,”, which claims priority and the benefit under35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Serial No.62/952,009, filed on Dec. 20, 2019, entitled “I/O CONNECTOR CONFIGUREDFOR CABLE CONNECTION TO A MIDBOARD.” U.S. Application Serial No.16/750,967, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,189,943, also claims priority and thebenefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application SerialNo. 62/796,913, filed on Jan. 25, 2019, entitled “I/O CONNECTORCONFIGURED FOR CABLE CONNECTION TO A MIDBOARD.” The contents of theseapplications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

This patent application relates generally to interconnection systems,such as those including electrical connectors, used to interconnectelectronic assemblies.

Electrical connectors are used in many electronic systems. It isgenerally easier and more cost effective to manufacture a system asseparate electronic assemblies, such as printed circuit boards (PCBs),which may be joined together with electrical connectors. A knownarrangement for joining several printed circuit boards is to have oneprinted circuit board serve as a backplane. Other printed circuitboards, called “daughterboards” or “daughtercards,” may be connectedthrough the backplane.

A backplane is a printed circuit board onto which many connectors may bemounted. Conducting traces in the backplane may be electricallyconnected to signal conductors in the connectors so that signals may berouted between the connectors. Daughtercards may also have connectorsmounted thereon. The connectors mounted on a daughtercard may be pluggedinto the connectors mounted on the backplane. In this way, signals maybe routed among the daughtercards through the backplane. Thedaughtercards may plug into the backplane at a right angle. Theconnectors used for these applications may therefore include a rightangle bend and are often called “right angle connectors.”

Connectors may also be used in other configurations for interconnectingprinted circuit boards. Sometimes, one or more smaller printed circuitboards may be connected to another larger printed circuit board. In sucha configuration, the larger printed circuit board may be called a“motherboard” and the printed circuit boards connected to it may becalled daughterboards. Also, boards of the same size or similar sizesmay sometimes be aligned in parallel. Connectors used in theseapplications are often called “stacking connectors” or “mezzanineconnectors.”

Connectors may also be used to enable signals to be routed to or from anelectronic device. A connector, called an “input/output (I/O) connector”may be mounted to a printed circuit board, usually at an edge of theprinted circuit board. That connector may be configured to receive aplug at one end of a cable assembly, such that the cable is connected tothe printed circuit board through the I/O connector. The other end ofthe cable assembly may be connected to another electronic device.

Cables have also been used to make connections within the sameelectronic device. The cables may be used to route signals from an I/Oconnector to a processor assembly that is located in the interior of aprinted circuit board, away from the edge at which the I/O connector ismounted, for example. In other configurations, both ends of a cable maybe connected to the same printed circuit board. The cables can be usedto carry signals between components mounted to the printed circuit boardnear where each end of the cable connects to the printed circuit board.

Cables provide signal paths with high signal integrity, particularly forhigh frequency signals, such as those above 40 Gbps using an NRZprotocol. Cables are often terminated at their ends with electricalconnectors that mate with corresponding connectors on the electronicdevices, enabling quick interconnection of the electronic devices. Eachcable may have one or more signal conductors embedded in a dielectricand wrapped by a conductive foil. A protective jacket, often made ofplastic, may surround these components. Additionally the jacket or otherportions of the cable may include fibers or other structures formechanical support.

One type of cable, referred to as a “twinax cable,” is constructed tosupport transmission of a differential signal and has a balanced pair ofsignal wires embedded in a dielectric and wrapped by a conductive layer.The conductive layer is usually formed using foil, such as aluminizedMylar.

The twinax cable can also have a drain wire. Unlike a signal wire, whichis generally surrounded by a dielectric, the drain wire may be uncoatedso that it contacts the conductive layer at multiple points over thelength of the cable. At an end of the cable, where the cable is to beterminated to a connector or other terminating structure, the protectivejacket, dielectric and the foil may be removed, leaving portions of thesignal wires and the drain wire exposed at the end of the cable. Thesewires may be attached to a terminating structure, such as a connector.The signal wires may be attached to conductive elements serving asmating contacts in the connector structure. The drain wire may beattached to a ground conductor in the terminating structure. In thisway, any ground return path may be continued from the cable to theterminating structure.

SUMMARY

In some aspects, embodiments of a midboard cable termination assemblyare described.

According to various aspects of the present disclosure, there isprovided an electrical connector comprising a terminal subassembly. Theterminal subassembly comprises a plurality of conductive elements,wherein each conductive element of the plurality of conductive elementscomprises a contact portion, a contact tail and an intermediate portionjoining the contact portion and the contact tail. The contact portionsof the plurality of conductive elements are positioned in a row. Theplurality of conductive elements comprises conductive elements of afirst type and a second type. The conductive elements of the first typehave intermediate portions with a 90 degree bend and contact tailsconfigured for attachment to a printed circuit board. The conductiveelements of the second type have contact tails configured for a cabletermination.

According to various aspects of the present disclosure, there isprovided an electrical connector comprising a plurality of terminalsubassemblies. Each of the plurality of terminal subassemblies comprisesa plurality of conductive elements, wherein each conductive element ofthe plurality of conductive elements comprises a contact portion, acontact tail and an intermediate portion joining the contact portion andthe contact tail. The contact portions of the plurality of conductiveelements are positioned in a row. The plurality of conductive elementscomprises conductive elements of a first type and a second type. Theconductive elements of the first type have intermediate portions with a90 degree bend and contact tails configured for attachment to a printedcircuit board, The conductive elements of the second type have contacttails configured for a cable termination.

According to various aspects of the present disclosure, there isprovided an electrical connector comprising a plurality of terminalsubassemblies. Each of the plurality of terminal subassemblies comprisesa plurality of conductive elements. Each conductive element of theplurality of conductive elements comprises a contact portion, a contacttail and an intermediate portion joining the contact portion and thecontact tail. The contact portions of the plurality of conductiveelements are positioned in a row extending in a direction from a firstside of the terminal subassembly towards a second side of the terminalsubassembly. The electrical connector comprises a first conductivemember and a second conductive member. The first conductive member isdisposed adjacent the first sides of the plurality of terminalsubassemblies and engages conductive elements within the terminalsubassemblies. The second conductive member is disposed adjacent thesecond sides of the plurality of terminal subassemblies and engagesconductive elements within the terminal subassemblies.

According to various aspects of the present disclosure, there isprovided an input/output (I/O) connector comprising a cage comprising achannel and at least one engagement feature and a plurality of terminalsubassemblies. Each of the plurality of terminal subassemblies comprisesa plurality of conductive elements. Each conductive element of theplurality of conductive elements comprises a contact portion, a contacttail and an intermediate portion joining the contact portion and thecontact tail. The contact portions of the plurality of conductiveelements are positioned in a row. Each of the plurality of terminalsubassemblies comprises an insulative portion holding the plurality ofconductive elements. The plurality of terminal subassemblies engage theat least one engagement feature of the cage such that the contactportions of the plurality of terminal subassemblies are positioned atpredetermined locations within the at least one channel.

According to various aspects of the present disclosure, there isprovided an electrical connector comprising a plurality of terminalsubassemblies. Each of the plurality of terminal subassemblies comprisesa plurality of conductive elements. Each conductive element of theplurality of conductive elements comprises a contact portion, a contacttail and an intermediate portion joining the contact portion and thecontact tail. The contact portions of the plurality of conductiveelements are positioned in a row extending in a direction from a firstside of the terminal subassembly towards a second side of the terminalsubassembly. The electrical connector comprises an alignment membercomprising a first edge and a second edge and biasing members betweenthe plurality of terminal subassemblies and the alignment member. Thebiasing members are configured to urge surfaces of the plurality ofterminal subassemblies against the second edge of the alignment membersuch that the plurality of terminal subassemblies have a predeterminedposition with respect to the alignment member.

The foregoing features may be used separately or in any suitablecombination. The foregoing is a non-limiting summary of the invention,which is defined by the attached claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In thedrawings, each identical or nearly identical component that isillustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. Forpurposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in everydrawing. In the drawings:

Figure (FIG. ) 1 is an isometric view of an illustrative midboard cabletermination assembly disposed on a printed circuit board, in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of an electronic assembly, partially cutaway, revealing a cage in closing a receptacle connector according tounknown design;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a transceiver configured for insertioninto the cage of FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 4A is a top plan view of a paddle card for a double density plug,such as might be inserted into a receptacle connector as describedherein;

FIG. 4B is a bottom plan view of a paddle card of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5A is an isometric view of a receptacle connector configured forrouting signals between a mating interface and both a printed circuitboard and cables extending to the midboard of the printed circuit board;

FIG. 5B is an isometric view of a cage such as might surround areceptacle connector in FIG. 5A, with a stack configuration;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the receptacle connector of FIG. 5A;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are top and bottom views, respectively, of an upperouter terminal subassembly, providing a row of contact portions ofconductive elements within the connector, such as might be used in themanufacture of the receptacle connector of FIG. 5A;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are top and bottom views, respectively, of an upperinner terminal subassembly, providing a row of contact portions ofconductive elements within the connector, such as might be used in themanufacture of the receptacle connector of FIG. 5A;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are top and bottom views, respectively, of a lower innerterminal subassembly, providing a row of contact portions of conductiveelements within the connector, such as might be used in the manufactureof the receptacle connector of FIG. 5A;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are top and bottom views, respectively, of a lowerouter terminal subassembly, providing a row of contact portions ofconductive elements within the connector, such as might be used in themanufacture of the receptacle connector of FIG. 5A;

FIGS. 11A, 11B, and 11C are a series of figures showing steps ofaligning and engaging the terminal subassemblies of FIGS. 7A and 7B,FIGS. 8A and 8B, FIGS. 9A and 9B, and FIGS. 10A and 10B duringmanufacture of a receptacle connector;

FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate a subsequent step in the manufacture of thereceptacle connector in which the contact portion of the conductiveelements in the terminal subassemblies as shown in FIG. 11C are insertedinto a housing so as to line two walls of the slot for engagement to apaddle card, as illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B, when the paddle card isinserted in that slot;

FIGS. 13A, 13B, 13C, and 13D illustrate a step of attaching ground clipsto the terminal subassemblies as shown in FIG. 12B, so as toelectrically connect the ground conductors in the terminal subassembliesto each other and to provide for a connection to grounding structureswithin the printed circuit board to which the receptacle connector isattached;

FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrate a step of attaching an insulative organizerto the terminal subassemblies as shown in FIG. 13D, so as to providemechanical support to the pressfit contact tails of a first type ofconductive element within the receptacle connector and to mechanicallysupport the terminal subassemblies;

FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate a step of inserting the receptacleconnector, as shown in FIG. 14B into a cage and attaching the terminalsubassemblies directly to the cage

FIG. 16A is an isometric view of a receptacle connector configured forrouting signals between a mating interface and both a printed circuitboard and cables extending to the midboard of the printed circuit board;

FIG. 16B is an isometric view of a cage such as might surround areceptacle connector in FIG. 16A, with a stack configuration;

FIG. 17 is an exploded view of the receptacle connector of FIG. 16A;

FIGS. 18A and 18B are top and bottom views, respectively, of an upperouter terminal subassembly, providing a row of contact portions ofconductive elements within the connector, such as might be used in themanufacture of the receptacle connector of FIG. 16A;

FIGS. 19A and 19B are top and bottom views, respectively, of an upperinner terminal subassembly, providing a row of contact portions ofconductive elements within the connector, such as might be used in themanufacture of the receptacle connector of FIG. 16A;

FIGS. 20A and 20B are top and bottom views, respectively, of a lowerinner terminal subassembly, providing a row of contact portions ofconductive elements within the connector, such as might be used in themanufacture of the receptacle connector of FIG. 16A;

FIGS. 21A and 21B are top and bottom views, respectively, of a lowerouter terminal subassembly, providing a row of contact portions ofconductive elements within the connector, such as might be used in themanufacture of the receptacle connector of FIG. 16A;

FIGS. 22A, 22B, and 22C are a series of figures showing steps ofaligning and engaging the terminal subassemblies of FIGS. 18A and 18B,FIGS. 19A and 19B, FIGS. 20A and 20B, and FIGS. 21A and 21B duringmanufacture of a receptacle connector;

FIGS. 23A, 23B, 23C, 23D, and 23E illustrate a step of attaching aground staple to the terminal subassemblies as shown in FIG. 22C, so asto electrically connect the ground conductors in the terminalsubassemblies to each other and to align the terminal subassemblies;

FIGS. 24A and 24B illustrates a subsequent step in the manufacture ofthe receptacle connector in which the contact portions of the conductiveelements in the terminal subassemblies as shown in FIG. 23A are insertedinto a housing so as to line two walls of the slot for engagement to apaddle card, as illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B, when the paddle card isinserted in that slot;

FIGS. 25A and 25B illustrate a step of attaching an insulative organizerto the terminal subassemblies as shown in FIG. 24B, so as to providemechanical support to the pressfit contact tails of the receptacleconnector and to mechanically support the terminal subassemblies;

FIGS. 26A and 26B illustrate a step of inserting the receptacleconnector, as shown in FIG. 25B into a cage and attaching the terminalsubassemblies directly to the cage;

FIGS. 27A and 27B are side views of mating contact portions ofreceptacle connectors engaged with contact pads of plugs; and

FIG. 27C shows an illustrative plot of stub response versus frequencyfor the mating contact portions of receptacle connectors engaged withthe contact pads of plugs of FIGS. 27A and 27B.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The inventors have recognized and appreciated techniques that enableelectrical connections with high signal integrity to be made fromlocations outside an electronic system to locations at the interior of aprinted circuit board inside the system. Such connections may be madethrough an input/output (I/O) connector configured to receive a plug ofan active optical cable (AOC) assembly or other external connection.That connector may be configured with terminations to cables that mayroute signals from the I/O connector to midboard locations. The I/Oconnector may also be configured to couple signals to or from theprinted circuit board directly. Techniques as described herein mayfacilitate both types of connections being made with high signalintegrity, but in a simple and low cost way.

In some embodiments, an I/O connector may be made from a stack ofterminal subassemblies that include at least two types of conductiveelements. A first type of conductive elements may have tails configuredfor direct attachment to a printed circuit board (PCB) to which theconnector is mounted. A second type of conductive elements have tailsconfigured to attachment to a cable. Cables attached to the tails ofconductive elements of the second type may be routed out a cageenclosing the I/O connector to other locations within the electronicassembly, such as to a midboard portion of the PCB.

In some embodiments, high-speed signals (e.g., with data rates in excessof 1Gbps) are transmitted through conductive elements having tailsconfigured to attachment to cables while low-speed signals (e.g., withdata rates less than 1Gbps or electrical signals intended to providepower) may be transmitted via conductive elements having tailsconfigured for direct attachment to a printed circuit board. Usingconductive elements having tails configured to attachment to cables forat least some signals may allow for greater signal density and integrityto and from high-speed (for example, signals of 25 GHz or higher)components on the printed circuit board, such as in configurations wheresignal traces in printed circuit boards may not provide a requiredsignal density and/or signal integrity, while using conductive elementshaving tails configured for direct attachment to a printed circuit boardfor at least some signals may reduce the number of cables required,which may in turn reduce system size and/or cost.

Further, techniques as described herein may improve signal integrity byreducing the tolerance between mating contact portions of conductiveelements within the I/O connector and mating contact portions ofconductive elements within a plug connector inserted into the I/Oconnector. The inventors have recognized and appreciated that thesetechniques for reducing tolerance may enable mating contact portions ofthe connectors to reliably function with reduced wipe during mating.Reduced wipe, in turn, may reduce the length of stubs in the matinginterface of mated connectors, which may improve signal integrity.

In some embodiments, for example, terminal subassemblies may engage witha cage surrounding the I/O connector. The cage may be a stamped metalpart such that the dimensions of the cage may be controlled by astamping die used in forming the cage, which leads to low variation inthe position of features of the cage. In some embodiments, forming partsby stamping metal may provide more accurately dimensioned parts thanparts formed by other processes, for example, housings formed by plasticmolding. By engaging the terminal subassemblies directly to features ofthe cage, rather than to a receptacle housing which is then positionedrelative to the cage, the contact portions of the terminal subassembliesmay be positioned with low variability relative to a predeterminedlocation of the cage. The cage may have a channel, configured to receivea mating plug, that is elongated so as to establish the direction ofinsertion of the plug for mating. In some embodiments, the cage may havean engagement feature that establishes the position of the terminalsubassemblies with respect to the direction of insertion of the plug.For example, the engagement feature may be a slot that is perpendicularto the direction of insertion of the plug that receives projections fromthe terminal subassemblies.

Alternatively or additionally, variability in position of the contactportions of conductive elements of the terminal subassemblies may bereduced by an alignment member engaging with the plurality ofsubassemblies. In some embodiments, the plurality of subassemblies maybe pressed against the alignment member, thereby establishing thepositions of all of the subassemblies relative to the alignment member.The alignment member may be produced with low variability, such as bystamping. Multiple terminal subassemblies may be positioned relative tothe alignment member, and therefore with respect to each other, with lowvariability.

A block of terminal subassemblies aligned in this way may beincorporated into an I/O connector, such as by attaching the block to acage and/or other components of the I/O connector. The position of aplug in a mated configuration may be established with respect to theblock of terminal subassemblies by engaging the plug with features onthe cage and/or other components of the I/O connector, leading to lessvariability from connector to connector in the position of contactportions of the conductive elements of the I/O connector and pads in theplug.

Less variability of the position of the contact portions and pads canimprove electrical performance of the I/O connector, particularly athigh frequencies. Connectors are conventionally designed to account forvariability in the position of the contact portions and the pads. Forreliable mating, it may be desirable that the contacts slide relative toeach other over a minimum distance. When there is variability in theposition of the contact surfaces, the plug may be designed with padslong enough that, when all components have nominal dimensions, thecontact portions slide or “wipe” over the pads upon mating a distanceequal to the minimum desired distance plus an amount to account forvariability in the relative position in the contacts and pads. Designingfor this amount of wipe ensures that the minimum desired wipe occurs forany connector, even if that connector has contact portions in positionsthat deviate from the nominal positions up to the full amount of theexpected variability in position of the contact portions.

However, longer pads to accommodate variability means that, on average,when mated, the end of the pad will extend beyond the contact point bythe minimum desired wipe plus the maximum expected variation in positionof the contact portion. For some pads, the end of the pad will extendbeyond the contact point by the minimum desired wipe plus twice themaximum expected variation in position of the contact portion.

With less variability in the position of the contact portions, a matingplug connector may be designed with shorter pads. On average, and worstcase, there will be a shorter distance between the forward edge of thepad and the point of contact with the contact surfaces. Thisconfiguration is desirable for enhanced electrical performance becausethe portion of the pad between the forward edge and the point of contactcan form stubs that support resonances at frequencies that are inverselyrelated to the length of the portion.

Techniques reducing the variability in position of the contact portionswith respect to a mated plug may be used in conjunction with designtechniques that reduce the distance between the forward edge of the padand the point of contact with the contact portions. As a result, stublengths may be reduced and resonances may occur at frequencies that donot interfere with operation of the connector, even at relatively highfrequencies, such as up to at least 25 GHz, up to at least 56 GHz or upto at least 112 GHz, up to at least 200 GHz, or greater, according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 27A shows a side view of a mating contact portion 2704 a engagedwith a contact pad 2702 a. In some embodiments, mating contact portion2704 a may be a component of a receptacle connector similar to otherreceptacle connectors described herein. In some embodiments, contact pad2702 a may be a component of a plug similar to other plugs describedherein. Contact mating portion 2704 a mates with contact pad 2702 a atcontact point 2706 a, forming a stub having stub length 2708 a.

FIG. 27B shows a side view of a mating contact portion 2704 b engagedwith a contact pad 2702 b. In some embodiments, mating contact portion2704 b may be a component of a receptacle connector similar to otherreceptacle connectors described herein. In some embodiments, contact pad2702 b may be a component of a plug similar to other plugs describedherein. Contact mating portion 2704 b mates with contact pad 2702 b atcontact point 2706 b, forming a stub having stub length 2708 b. Stublength 2708 b is shorter than sub length 2708 a. A reduced stub length2708 b may be achieved via reducing overall tolerance or increasingalignment precision using any of the techniques described herein.

FIG. 27C shows an illustrative plot of stub response versus frequencyfor the mating contact portion 2704 a engaged with contact pad 2702 a inFIG. 27A and contact mating portion 2704 b engaged with contact pad 2704b in FIG. 27B. The horizontal axis shows frequency of signalstransmitted through the contact mating portions and contact pads. Thevertical axis shows the response of the stubs formed by the location ofcontact points 2706 a and 2706 b that results from the frequency of thesignals transmitted through the contact mating portions and contactpads, at each frequency. The stub response may represent, for example,resonant frequencies arising in response to reflections in the stub. Assignals propagate along a pad (for example from left to right in FIG.27A), a portion of the signal couples to the contact mating portion anda portion of the signal couples to the stub. The energy that couples tothe stub is eventually reflected back at forward edge 2709 a. Thereflected signal can further reflect at rear edge 2711 a (and/or atcontact point 2706 a), thus giving rise to a resonator.

Stub length 2708 a has a response illustrated by curve 2710. Curve 2710has a peak at frequency 2714 and tends to zero on either side offrequency 2714. Stub length 2708 b has a response illustrated by curve2712. Curve 2712 has a peak at frequency 2716 and tends to zero oneither side of frequency 2716. The peak at frequency 2716 occurs at ahigher frequency than the peak at frequency 2714. By reducing stublength, such as be reducing stub length 2708 a to stub length 2708 b,using the techniques described herein for reducing overall tolerance orincreasing alignment precision, a frequency shift 2718 to higherfrequencies may be achieved. The frequency shift 2718 increases theoperating frequency of signals that may be transmitted through contactmating portion 2704 b and contact pad 2702 b without the adverseelectrical effects associated with stubs that occur at higherfrequencies.

FIG. 1 shows an isometric view 100 of an illustrative electronic systemin which a cabled connection is made between a connector mounted at theedge of a printed circuit board and a midboard cable terminationassembly disposed on a printed circuit board. In the illustratedexample, the midboard cable termination assembly is used to provide alow loss path for routing electrical signals between one or morecomponents, such as component 112, mounted to printed circuit board 110and a location off the printed circuit board. Component 112, forexample, may be a processor or other integrated circuit chip. However,any suitable component or components on printed circuit board 110 mayreceive or generate the signals that pass through the midboard cabletermination assembly.

In the illustrated example, the midboard cable termination assemblycouples signals between component 112 and printed circuit board 118.Printed circuit board 118 is shown to be orthogonal to circuit board110. Such a configuration may occur in a telecommunications switch or inother types of electronic equipment. However, a midboard cabletermination assembly may be used in electronic equipment with otherarchitectures. For example, a midboard cable termination assembly may beused to couple signals between a location in the interior of a printedcircuit board and one or more other locations, such as a transceiverterminating an active optical cable assembly.

In the example of FIG. 1 , the connector 114 is mounted at the edge ofprinted circuit board 110. Rather than being configured as an I/Oconnector, the connector 114 is configured to support connectionsbetween the two orthogonal printed circuit boards 110 and 118.Nonetheless, FIG. 1 illustrates cabled connections for at least some ofthe signals passing through connector 114, and this technique may besimilarly applied in an I/O connector.

FIG. 1 shows a portion of an electronic system including midboard cabletermination assembly 102, cables 108, component 112, right angleconnector 114, connector 116, and printed circuit boards (PCBs) 110,118. Midboard cable termination assembly 102 may be mounted on PCB 110near component 112, which is also mounted on PCB 110. Midboard cabletermination assembly 102 may be electrically connected to component 112via traces in PCB 110. Other suitable connections techniques, however,may be used instead of or in addition to traces in a PCB. In otherembodiments, for example, midboard cable termination assembly 102 may bemounted to a component package containing a lead frame with multipleleads, such that signals may be coupled between midboard cabletermination assembly 102 and the component through the leads.

Cables 108 may electrically connect midboard cable termination assembly102 to a location remote from component 112 or otherwise remote from thelocation at which midboard cable termination assembly 102 is attached toPCB 110. In the illustrated embodiment, a second end of cable 108 isconnected to right angle connector 114. Connector 114 is shown as anorthogonal connector that can make separable electrical connections toconnector 116 mounted on a surface of printed circuit board 118orthogonal to printed circuit board 110. Connector 114, however, mayhave any suitable function and configuration, and may, for example, bean I/O connector as described below.

In the embodiment illustrated, connector 114 includes one type ofconnector unit mounted to PCB 110 and another type of connector unitterminating cables 108. Such a configuration enables some signals routedthrough connector 114 to connector 116 to be connected to traces in PCB110 and other signals to pass through cables 108. In some embodiments,higher frequency signals, such as signals above 10 GHz or above 25 GHzabove 56 GHz or above 112 GHz in some embodiments, may be connectedthrough cables 108.

In the illustrated example, the midboard cable termination assembly 102is electrically connected to connector 114. However, the presentdisclosure is not limited in this regard. The midboard cable terminationassembly 102 may be electrically connected to any suitable type ofconnector or component capable of accommodating and/or mating with thesecond ends 106 of cables 108.

Cables 108 may have first ends 104 attached to midboard cabletermination assembly 102 and second ends 106 attached to connector 114.Cables 108 may have a length that enables midboard cable terminationassembly 102 to be spaced from second ends 106 at connector 114 by adistance D.

In some embodiments, the distance D may be longer than the distance overwhich signals at the frequencies passed through cables 108 couldpropagate along traces within PCB 110 with acceptable losses. In someembodiments, D may be at least six inches, in the range of one to 20inches, or any value within the range, such as between six and 20inches. However, the upper limit of the range may depend on the size ofPCB 110, and the distance from midboard cable termination assembly 102that components, such as component 112, are mounted to PCB 110. Forexample, component 112 may be a microchip or another suitable high-speedcomponent that receives or generates signals that pass through cables108.

Midboard cable termination assembly 102 may be mounted near components,such as component 112, which receive or generate signals that passthrough cables 108. As a specific example, midboard cable terminationassembly 102 may be mounted within six inches of component 112, and insome embodiments, within four inches of component 112 or within twoinches of component 112. Midboard cable termination assembly 102 may bemounted at any suitable location at the midboard, which may be regardedas the interior regions of PCB 110, set back equal distances from theedges of PCB 110 so as to occupy less than 80% of the area of PCB 110.

Midboard cable termination assembly 102 may be configured for mountingon PCB 110 in a manner that allows for ease of routing signals coupledthrough connector 114. For example, the footprint associated withmounting midboard cable termination assembly 102 may be spaced from theedge of PCB 110 such that traces may be routed out of that portion ofthe footprint in all directions, such as toward component 112. Incontrast, signals coupled through connector 114 into PCB 110 will berouted out of a footprint of connector 114 toward the midboard.

Further, connector 114 is attached with eight cables aligned in a columnat second ends 106. The column of cables are arranged in a 2x4 array atfirst ends 104 attached to midboard cable termination assembly 102. Sucha configuration, or another suitable configuration selected for midboardcable termination assembly 102, may result in relatively short breakoutregions that maintain signal integrity in connecting to an adjacentcomponent in comparison to routing patterns that might be required werethose same signals routed out of a larger footprint.

The inventors have recognized and appreciated that signal traces inprinted circuit boards may not provide the signal density and/or signalintegrity required for transmitting high-speed signals, such as those of25 GHz or higher, between high-speed components mounted in the midboardand connectors or other components at the periphery of the PCB. Instead,signal traces may be used to electrically connect a midboard cabletermination assembly to a high-speed component at short distance, and inturn, the midboard cable termination assembly may be configured toreceive termination ends of one or more cables carrying the signal overa large distance. Using such a configuration may allow for greatersignal density and integrity to and from a high-speed component on theprinted circuit board. In some embodiments, high-speed signals (e.g.,with data rates in excess of 1Gbps) are transmitted through cables whilelow-speed signals (e.g., with data rates less than 1Gbps) may betransmitted via contact tails provided for attachment to a printedcircuit board. The contact tails, for example, may be pressfits that areinserted into vias in the PCB or surface mount tails that are surfacemount soldered to pads on the PCB. These contact tails may carrylow-speed signals and/or, in some embodiments, power. Alternatively oradditionally, low-speed signals or power may be routed through thecables.

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative midboard cable termination assembly 102.Other suitable termination assemblies may be used. Cables 108, forexample, may be terminated at their midboard end with a plug connector,which may be inserted into a receptacle mounted to printed circuit board110. Alternatively, the midboard end of cables 108 may be attached topressfits or other conductive elements that may be directly attached toPCB 110 without a plug connector. Alternatively or additionally, themidboard end of cables 108 may be terminated to component 112, directlyor through a connector.

The connector at the edge of printed circuit board 110 may similarly beformatted for other architectures and may, for example, be an I/Oconnector.

FIG. 2 illustrates a known I/O connector arrangement, which does notsupport cabled connections to a midboard. In the embodiment illustratedin FIG. 2 , a cage 301 is mounted to a printed circuit board 303 siteelectronic assembly 300. A forward end 302 of cage 301 extends into anopening of a panel, which may be a wall of an enclosure containingcircuit board 303. To make connections between components withinelectronic system 300 and external components, a plug may be insertedinto the channel formed by cage 301. In this example, that plug isconfigured as a transceiver, such as may be used to terminate an opticalcable to form an active optical cable assembly.

A transceiver 200 is shown partially inserted into the forward end 302of cage 301. Transceiver 200 includes a bail 217, which may be graspedto insert and remove transceiver 200 from cage 301. Though not shown inFIG. 2 , an end of transceiver 200 including bail 217 may be configuredto receive optical fibers, which may be connected to other electronicdevices.

Transceiver 200 may include circuitry that converts optical signals onthe fibers to electrical signals and vice versa. Though not visible inFIG. 2 , a receptacle connector may be mounted at the rear end of cage301. That connector provides signal paths between transceiver 200 andtraces within printed circuit board 303 such that electrical signals maybe exchanged between the transceiver and components mounted to a printedcircuit board 300.

FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of transceiver 200. Internal totransceiver 200 is a printed circuit board 214, sometimes called a“paddle card”. A forward mating end of paddle card 214 containsconductive pads 231. The mating end of paddle card 214 may be insertedinto a receptacle connector and mating contacts of conductive elementswithin a connector may make contact to the conductive pads 231. FIG. 3shows a row of conductive pads 231 on an upper surface of paddle card214 . A similar row of conductive pads may line the bottom side ofpaddle card 214. A transceiver with a paddle card in this configurationmay mate with a receptacle connector that has a slot into which theforward mating end of the paddle card 214 is inserted. That slot may belined top and bottom with mating contacts for conductive elements in theconnector.

FIG. 3 illustrates a paddle card for a single density connection, as asingle row of paddle cards is shown. Some transceivers may employ adouble density configuration in which two rows of pads are adjacent to amating end of the paddle card. FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate a paddle cardthat may be used in a transceiver figured in a double densityconfiguration.

FIG. 4A is a plan view of a first side 402 of an exemplary paddle card400, and FIG. 4B is a plan view of the opposite side 404 of theexemplary paddle card 400. The paddle card extends along a firstdirection 450 and a second direction 452. The width of the paddle card4A (here shown as being in the second direction 452) may be specified bythe associated standard, at least at the mating interface where contactpads 406 are located. For example, in some embodiments, the width mayrange between 13.25 and 19.75 millimeters, between 19.5 and 29millimeters, and/or the like. In many commercial implications, thepaddle card will have the same width over its entire length.

Each side 402 and 404 has contact pads 406 and 408 shown in FIGS. 4A and4B. Each side 402 and 404 also has solder pads 410 or 412. The pads canbe implemented in various ways, such as by a layer of metal disposed onthe surface of the paddle card 400 over or otherwise connected to a viawithin the paddle card 400 or as the top of a via within the paddle card400.

The solder pads 410 are arranged along two rows shown by dotted arrows422A and 422B, and the solder pads 412 are similarly arranged along tworows shown by dotted arrows 426A and 426B. Like the contact pads 406 and408 as discussed below, the solder pads 410 and 412 include sets ofsolder pads. There may be a set of solder pads per cable. FIG. 4A showsa first set of solder pads J2, which includes signal solder pads 410Aand 410B and ground solder pad 410C disposed to the right of the signalsolder pads 410A and 410B. In this exemplary embodiment, the solder pads410A, 410B and 410C are used to electrically and physically connect tothe pair of signal wires (denoted “n” and “p” in the figure) and theground of an associated transmit cable (e.g., the first transmit cable),respectively. FIG. 4A also shows a second set of solder pads J4, whichincludes signal solder pads 410D and 410E and ground solder pad 410Fdisposed to the right of the signal solder pads 410A and 410B. In thisexemplary embodiment, the solder pads 410D, 410E and 410F are used toelectrically and physically connect to the n and p signal wires and theground of an associated transmit cable (e.g., the third transmit cable),respectively. The ground solder pads and pairs of signal solder pads ineach row may alternate. For example, the pair of signal solder pads 410Dand 410E are disposed between ground solder pads 410C and 410F, andground solder pad 410C is disposed between signal solder pad pairs410A/410B and 410D/410E.

In some embodiments, paddle card 400 may be constructed such that atleast one of the ground solder pads adjacent a pair of signal pads isattached to a portion of the ground structure within the paddle card towhich the traces attached to the pair of signal pads are referenced. Ifthere is a common mode signal on the pair of traces, for example, therewill be a corresponding return current flow through the ground structureto which those traces are referenced. In a paddle card, for example,ground planes may be interleaved between layers carrying signal tracessuch that the traces are referenced to an adjacent ground plane, whichmay be the closest ground plane to the traces.

The contact pads 406 and 408 are in electrical communication with thesolder pads 410 and 412, respectively, through the interior of thepaddle card. For example, a trace within the paddle card connects solderpad 410A with contact pad 406A; a second trace within the paddle cardconnects solder pad 410B with contact pad 406B; and a ground planewithin the paddle card may connect solder pad 410C with contact pad406C. As another example, a third trace may connect solder pad 410D withcontact pad 406D; a fourth trace may connect solder pad 410E with thecontact pad 406E. The same, or a different ground plane, may connectsolder pad 410F with contact pad 406F. Thus, like the contact pads 410and 412, the contact pads 406 and 408 can be logically grouped into setsof contact pads associated with the cables terminated to the paddlecard.

For example, each set of contact pads in the contact pads 406 mayinclude a pair of signal pads and a ground pad, which facilitateconnection of the signals from the associated cable to correspondingcontacts of a mating connector. For example, FIG. 4A shows a first setof contact pads, which includes signal contact pads 406A and 406B andground contact pad 406C. In the illustrated embodiment, the groundcontact pads, such as 406C, are longer than the signal contact pads,such as contact pads 406A and 406B. FIG. 4A also shows a second set ofcontact pads, which includes signal contact pads 406D and 406E andground contact pad 406F. FIGS. 4A and 4B show other contact pads thatare not numbered for simplicity. The contact pads 406 are arranged alongtwo rows shown by dotted arrows 420A and 420B, and the contact pads 408are similarly arranged along two rows shown by dotted arrows 424A and424B. Each row includes a plurality of sets of contact pads.

The ground contact pads and pairs of signal contact pads in each row mayalternate. For example, the pair of signal contact pads 406A and 406Bare disposed between ground contact pads 406C and 406F, and groundcontact pad 406F is disposed between signal pairs 406A/406B and406D/406E. As shown, there is a space between the contact pads 406 and408 (e.g., the space between rows 420A and 420B in FIG. 4A).

While not shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, components can be attached to thepaddle card 400. For example, the paddle card 400 can be sizedsufficiently such that active components can be attached to the paddlecard 400 in the space between the row 420A of contact pads and the row422B of contact pads shown in FIG. 4A. For example, filters, amplifiers,transceivers, and/or the like are examples of active components that canbe attached to the paddle card 400. Similarly, non-volatile memory(NVM), for example, an electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EEPROM), may be attached to the paddle card. For example, insome applications it can be desirable to convert from the communicationprotocol being used on the cable to a different communication protocol(e.g., to convert between different communication standards). Activecomponents can be included on the paddle card 400 to perform theconversion on the paddle card 400, such that a different protocol isprovided to a mating connector. Alternatively or additionally, one ormore passive components -- such as a resistor; capacitor; inductor;transformer; may also be attached to the paddle card.

FIGS. 5A-15B illustrate construction and assembling of a receptacleconnector 500, in accordance with some embodiments. Such a receptacleconnector may be an I/O connector.

FIG. 5A illustrates a receptacle connector 500 that may receive a doubledensity paddle card. FIG. 5A shows the receptacle connector 500 withouta cage. In this configuration, a slot (for example, slot 1202 formed inhousing 504, as shown in of FIGS. 12A-12B), configured to receive themating end of a paddle card, is visible. Though not visible in FIG. 5A,mating contacts of conductive elements inside the receptacle connector500 may line the top and bottom of that slot 1202. Those mating contactsmay be positioned in two rows, aligned to make contact to the two rowsof pads as shown on the paddle cards in FIGS. 4A and 4B.

Some of those conductive elements have contact tails configured to beelectrically connected to a printed circuit board, for example, printedcircuit board 508, such as by being inserted into plated through holesin the circuit board to which the receptacle connector 500 is mounted.In this way, electrical signals may pass between a transceiver and thetraces of the printed circuit board through the receptacle connector500. FIG. 5A additionally shows cables (for example, cables 712, 812,912, and/or 1012 described below) extending from a rear portion of thereceptacle connector 500. As seen in the system configurationillustrated in FIG. 1 , the other end of those cables (not visible inFIG. 5A) may be connected to a midboard cable termination assembly orotherwise connected at the midboard such that electrical signals may berouted from the plug of a cable assembly to the midboard without passingthrough the printed circuit board.

FIG. 5B shows a cage 510 mounted around the receptacle connector 500.FIG. 5B also illustrates that the channels configured to receivetransceivers may be stacked, one above the other. For example, a channelmay be formed by front opening 512 in the cage 510, front opening 512being configured to receive a transceiver. In the embodiment illustratedin FIG. 5B, the channels are stacked in the vertical direction bymounting a receptacle connector on the top and bottom of a printedcircuit board. A cage 510 may include a top opening 514 configured suchthat a heat sink may extend through the opening 514 into the cage 510 tocontact and/or cool a transceiver disposed in the cage 510.

In accordance with some embodiments, contact tails of conductiveelements designated as signal conductors may be positioned such thatwhen two connectors are mounted to printed circuit board 508 in theconfiguration shown in FIG. 5B, the signal contact tails are notaligned. Such a configuration enables a first set of holes to be drilledthrough the printed circuit board 508 to receive contact tails from aconnector mounted to the top of the printed circuit board 508 and asecond set of holes to be drilled through the printed circuit board 508to receive contact tails from a connector mounted to the bottom of theprinted circuit board 508. The first set and the second set of holes maybe spaced so as not to interfere with each other. Such a configurationmay result from positioning the tails associated signal conductorsasymmetrically with respect to a centerline, extending in the matingdirection, of the connector. Contact tails associated with groundconductors may similarly be asymmetrical, but may alternatively besymmetrical about the center line as the ground conductors from the topand bottom connectors may be inserted into the same set of holes.

In other configurations, stacking may be achieved by configuring onereceptacle connector to receive two or more paddle cards. Such aconnector, for example, may have two slots rather than one slot, asillustrated in FIG. 5A. In embodiments described herein, a receptacleconnector is assembled from terminal subassemblies, each providing onerow of mating contacts. For example, receptacle connector 500 shown inFIG. 5A includes terminal subassembly 502 a, terminal subassembly 502 b,terminal subassembly 502 c, terminal subassembly 502 d arranged instacked configuration. Stacked terminal subassemblies may be engaged inan organizer 506. A stacked connector may be provided by inserting moreterminal subassemblies into a housing with two or more slots.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the receptacle connector 500 shown in FIG.5 . In this example, a housing 504 with a single slot 1202 is shown. Thehousing 504 may be molded from insulative material.

Four terminal subassemblies, 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d, are shown.Each terminal subassembly 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d provides onerow of mating contact portions of the conductive elements within thereceptacle connector 500. In some embodiments, the row direction isparallel to a plane of the printed circuit board 508. Four terminalsubassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d are used to provide tworows lining the upper wall of the slot 1202 and two rows lining thelower wall of the slot 1202 for mating to a double density paddle cardas shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. As can be seen, the terminal subassemblies502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d are generally planar and may be stackedone on top of another. The organizer 506, which may also be molded frominsulative material, may be used to support contact tails of a firsttype of conductive element in the receptacle connector 500 that isconfigured for attachment to printed circuit board 508 to which thereceptacle connector 500 is mounted.

Additionally, ground clips 602 may be provided to electrically connectthe shields or other ground conductors within the separate terminalsubassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d. The ground clips 602 areconfigured to provide ground connections for each of the terminalsubassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d. In the illustratedembodiment, the ground conductors in each terminal subassembly 502 a,502 b, 502 c, and 502 d are electrically connected to each other and toground structures in the printed circuit board 508 through the groundclips 602.

As illustrated in FIG. 6 , the ground clips 602 comprise a first groundclip and a second ground clip. The first ground clip and the secondground clip comprise a first member and a second member separate fromthe first member. In some embodiments, the ground clips 602 may bearranged in a plane defined by both a plugging direction of atransceiver and a direction normal to a printed circuit board. In suchembodiments, the planes of the ground clips 602 are arranged may benormal to each of the rows of conductive elements 704 a, 704 b, 804 a,804 b, 904 a, 904 b, 1004 a, and 1004 b.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate upper and lower views of a terminalsubassembly 502 a. The terminal subassembly 502 a illustrated in thesefigures is configured with conductive elements 704 a and 704 b thatprovide the outer row of contact elements at the top of the slot 1202 inthe connector housing 504. The terminal subassembly 504 a illustrated inFIG. 7A may be formed by stamping a row of conductive elements 704 a and704 b from a sheet of metal.

In some embodiments, a row direction of a row of conductive elements,(the direction along which different conductive elements of the row arespaced from each other), is arranged in a plane that is parallel to aplane of a printed circuit board 508 (FIG. 5A). In some embodiments, arow direction is arranged perpendicular to a plugging direction by whicha transceiver is inserted into a cage enclosing the receptacleconnector, via a front opening.

The conductive elements 704 a and 704 b may be shaped to have matingcontact portions at one end. In some embodiments, the conductiveelements 704 a and 704 b may be disposed in an insulative overmold 708a. For example, intermediate portions of the conductive elements 704 aand 704 b may be overmolded with an insulative material, such asplastic. The plastic holds the conductive elements 704 a and 704 b withtheir mating contact portions in a row. Both the contact portions anddetails of the conductive elements may extend from the insulativematerial.

In accordance with some embodiments, conductive elements in a row, suchas conductive elements 704 a and 704 b, may be stamped from a sheet ofmetal, but initially held in position with tie bars. The housing, suchas insulative overmold 708 a, may be overmolded on those conductiveelements so as to hold the conductive elements in the position. Then thetie bars may be severed to create electrically insulated conductiveelements. The positions of the conductive elements may be set by thestamping die used to cut the conductive elements from the sheet ofmetal, even after the tie bars are severed.

The terminal subassembly 502 a may include a first type of theconductive elements 704 a and a second type of the conductive elements704 b. In some embodiments, such as illustrated in FIGS. 7A-7B, contactportions of the first type of the conductive elements 704 a may bearranged between contact portions of the second type of the conductiveelements 704 b, such as between two groups contact portions of thesecond type of the conductive elements 704 b. In some embodiments,low-speed signals (e.g., with data rates less than 1 Gbps) may betransmitted via the first type of the conductive elements 704 a, whichmay have tails configured for direct attachment to a printed circuitboard. In some embodiments, high-speed signals (e.g., with data rates inexcess of 1 Gbps) are transmitted through the second type of theconductive elements 704 b, which may have tails configured to attachmentto cables. Using the first type of the conductive elements 704 a havingtails configured for direct attachment to a printed circuit board for atleast some signals may allow for greater signal density and integrity toand from high-speed (for example, signals of 25 GHz or higher)components on the printed circuit board, such as in configurations wheresignal traces in printed circuit boards may not provide a requiredsignal density and/or signal integrity. Using the second type of theconductive elements 704 b having tails configured to attachment tocables for at least some signals may reduce the number of cablesrequired, which may in turn reduce system size and/or cost.

The insulative overmold 708 a may have two portions. One, adjacent thecontact portions, may hold all of the conductive elements 704 a and 704b in the terminal subassembly 502 a. The second portion of theinsulative overmold 708 a may hold only a first type of conductiveelement, for example, first type of conductive elements 704 a,configured with tails 710 for attachment to a printed circuit board 508.The first portion of the insulative overmold 708 a is visible in bothFIGS. 7A and 7B. The second portion of the insulative overmold 708 a isvisible in FIG. 7B adjacent the pressfits on the contact tails 710 ofthe first type of conductive elements 704 a. In some embodiments, thefirst portion and the second portion of the insulative overmold 708 amay be overmolded when the intermediate portions of the first type ofconductive elements 704 a are straight. The intermediate portions maysubsequently be bent into a 90° angle, creating the positioning of thesecond portion of the overmold as shown in FIG. 7B. The intermediateportions may be bent to a 90° angle to configure tails 710 to be mountedto printed circuit board 508.

The insulative portion may be molded to include features that providedesirable electric and/or mechanical properties. One such feature is achannel near the mating contact portions. This channel may be molded toexpose intermediate portions of the conductive elements 704 a and 704 bvia an elongated recess. In the illustrated embodiment, exposing theconductive elements 704 a and 704 b allows connections between selectedones of the conductive elements 704 a and 704 b to be made. In theexample illustrated, certain ones of the conductive elements 704 a and704 b are designated as ground conductors. Specifically, the conductiveelements 704 a and 704 b may be arranged in a pattern, over all or aportion of the row, in which adjacent pairs of conductive elements 704 aand 704 b designated as signal conductors are separated by conductiveelements 704 a and 704 b designated as ground conductors. The channelsmay be molded to expose the ground conductors and one or more membersmay be inserted into the channel to electrically connect the groundconductors, while leaving the signal conductors electrically insulatedfrom the inserted members.

In the illustrated embodiment, a shorting bar 702 is inserted into thechannel. The shorting bar 702 is made of a metal strip, extending in therow direction. The metal strip may have features designed to couple tothe ground conductors such as by pressing against the ground conductorsor being sufficiently close to the ground conductors to providecapacitive coupling to the ground conductors. In the illustratedembodiment, the shorting bar 702 is partially enclosed in a lossymaterial, here formed with conductive plastic (as described below).However, it should be appreciated that what is inserted into the channelcould be either a metal strip alone or a strip of lossy material alone,in other embodiments.

In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 7A, a shorting bar subassemblycomprises a single shorting bar 702 arranged across the groundconductors of the terminal subassembly 502 a illustrated in FIG. 7A.However, shorting bars subassemblies may be provided having alterativearrangements. For example, a shorting bar subassembly may comprises aplurality (for example, two or more) of shorting bars that, in totality,are arranged across each of the ground conductors of a single terminalsubassembly.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrates that cables 712 may be terminated to asecond type of the conductive elements 704 b . Such cables 712 are shownin FIG. 7 . The cables 712 are twinax cables, each with two wires(though other number of wires are also possible), each of which isterminated to one of a pair of signal conductors. The terminations arenot visible in FIG. 7A because they are covered by a ground shield 706,which has concave sections partially surrounding the terminations. Thatground shield 706 also has flat portions, which may be welded orotherwise attached to the ground conductors on either side of the pairsof signal conductors.

FIG. 7B, showing the lower side of the terminal subassembly 502 a,reveals that the tails of the ground conductors are both connectedtogether and include tabs that may wrap around the cables 712. Each ofthe twinax cables 712 may include a shield wrapped around an insulatedpair of wires. At the cable 712 termination, that cable shield may beexposed. The tabs of the ground conductors when wrapped around the cable712 may make electrical contact to the shield of the cables 712. In thisexample, the twinax cables 712 are drainless cables such that connectionis made to the wrapped shield. However, it should be appreciated thatother techniques may be used for making a connection between the groundconductors in the terminal subassembly 502 a and the shields of thecables 712, including tabs or other structures on the common groundshield 706 shown in FIG. 7A.

FIGS. 7A and 7B also illustrate a second overmolding, forming a strainrelief overmold 708 b. The strain relief overmold 708 b is formed aroundthe cables 712 extending from the rear of the terminal subassembly 502a. The strain relief overmold 708 b may be formed of the same type ofmaterial as the insulative overmold 708 a of the terminal subassembly502 a. However, different materials may be used. For example, theinsulative material of the lead frame overmold 708 a may be selected tohave a suitable dielectric constant, such as greater than 3, while thematerial for the strain relief overmold 708 b may be selected formechanical properties, such as flexibility and/or durability.

In the illustrated embodiment, the strain relief overmold 708 b ismolded after the insulative overmold 708 a around the conductiveelements 704 a and 704 b. As shown in FIG. 7B, the first formedinsulative overmold 708 a may have projections around which the strainrelief overmold 708 b is overmolded, such that both overmolds are heldtogether once formed. The strain relief overmold 708 b may be moldedafter the intermediate portions of the first type of conductive elements704 a are bent at a 90° angle. Accordingly, both overmolds have shapes,including features as illustrated in the figures, that may be readilyformed via a molding operation.

The midboard ends of the cables 712 are not visible in FIGS. 7A and 7B,nor are the midboard ends of the cables 812 visible in FIGS. 8A and 8B,nor are the midboard ends of the cables 912 visible in FIGS. 9A and 9B,nor are the midboard ends of the cables 1012 visible in FIGS. 10A and10B. In some embodiments, a plug connector may be attached to themidboard end of the cables 712, 812, 912 or 1012. The plug may beconfigured to mate with a low-profile connector installed at themidboard. That plug connector may be attached at any suitable time,including before the cables 712, 812, 912, or 1012 are terminated to theterminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, or 502 d, after the cables712, 812, 912, or 1012 are terminated to the terminal subassemblies 502a, 502 b, 502 c, or 502 d and before the terminal subassemblies 502 a,502 b, 502 c, or 502 d are stacked into a receptacle connector 500 orafter the receptacle connector 500 is formed.

FIG. 8A illustrates a top perspective view of and FIG. 8B illustrates abottom perspective view of terminal subassembly 502 b. FIG. 9Aillustrates a top perspective view of and FIG. 9B illustrates a bottomperspective view of terminal subassembly 502 c. FIG. 10A illustrates abottom perspective view of and FIG. 10B illustrates a top perspectiveview of terminal subassembly 502 d. FIGS. 8A, 8B, 9A, 9B, 10A, and 10Billustrate additional terminal subassemblies 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d,each holding first types of conductive elements 804 a, 904 a, and 1004 aand second types of conductive elements 804 b, 904 b, and 1004 b withcontact portions in a row. Each of the second types of conductiveelements 804 b, 904 b, and 1004 b may be configured with tails 810, 910,or 1010 for attachment to printed circuit board 508.

As shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, terminal subassembly 502 a is configuredto be arranged adjacent terminal subassembly 502 b, at the top of theterminal subassembly stack, and at the top of the channel formed by thecage. Terminal subassembly 502 b is configured to be arranged betweenterminal subassemblies 502 a and 502 c, towards the top of the terminalsubassembly stack, and towards the top of the channel formed by thecage. Terminal subassembly 502 c is configured to be arranged betweenterminal subassemblies 502 b and 502 d, towards the bottom of theterminal subassembly stack, and towards the bottom of the channel formedby the cage. Terminal subassembly 502 d is configured to be arrangedbetween terminal subassembly 502 c and printed circuit board 508, at thebottom of the terminal subassembly stack, and at the bottom of thechannel formed by the cage.

The shape and relative position of the contact portions may vary fromsubassembly to subassembly, as different subassemblies provide an inneror an outer row of contact portions and a row at the top or bottom ofthe slot. Each of the terminal subassemblies may be formed using thesame constructions techniques, with a set of conductive elements stampedfrom a sheet of metal and then overmolded with one or more housingportions 808 a, 908 a, and 1008 a and/or stress relief portions 808 b,908 b, and 1008 b. A shield such as ground shields 806, 906 or 1006 maybe attached, and may be electrically connected to other groundedstructures in the subassembly. A shorting bar, such as shorting bar1002, with or without lossy material may be connected, such as via laserwelding, to some or all of the ground conductors in the subassembly. Theshape of the additional terminal subassemblies, however, may be adaptedbased on the position of the terminal subassembly within the stack ofsubassemblies.

In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 10A, a shorting bar subassemblycomprises a single shorting bar 1002 arranged across the groundconductors of the terminal subassembly 502 d illustrated in FIG. 10A

Additionally, the position of the tails of the first type of theconductive elements 704 a, 804 a, 904 a, and 1004 a varies fromsubassembly to subassembly. This variation enables the terminalsubassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d to be stacked in a nestedfashion, such as is illustrated in FIGS. 11A, 11B, and 11C. FIG. 11Ashows a exploded detail view of stacking features of terminalsubassemblies 502 a, 502 b, and 502 c. FIG. 11B shows an exploded viewof a stacking arrangement of terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, and502 c. FIG. 11C shows an assembled stacked arrangement of terminalsubassemblies 502 a, 502 b, and 502 c. Other features to supportstacking, are illustrated in the figures. For example, each terminalsubassembly may include at least one alignment member at a top or bottomsurface, such as dowels, for example, dowels 716, 816, 916, or 1016, inone subassembly that engage holes, for example, holes 818 or 918, inanother subassembly. The alignment members may be positioned at a top orbottom surface of a terminal subassembly. Terminal subassemblies stackedbetween two other terminal subassemblies, such as terminal subassemblies502 b or 502 c, may include alignment members at both top and bottomsurfaces while terminal subassemblies stacked adjacent only a singleother terminal subassembly, such as terminal subassemblies 502 a or 502d, may include alignment members at only one of the top or bottomsurface.

An additional feature of the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c,and 502 d configured to support nesting and stacking of the terminalsubassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d may include at least oneopening formed in an insulative overmold 708 a, 808 a, 908 a, or 1008 aor formed in a strain relief overmold 708 b, 808 b, 908 b, or 1008 b.For example, strain relief overmold 808 b includes an opening 814aligned with and configured to receive the second portion of theinsulative overmold 708 a and tails 710. Strain relief overmold 908 bincludes an opening 914 (larger than opening 814 in some embodiments)aligned with and configured to receive the second portion of theinsulative overmold 708 a and tails 710 as well as the second portion ofthe insulative overmold 808 a and tails 810. Strain relief overmold 1008b includes an opening 1014 (larger than opening 914 in some embodiments)aligned with and configured to receive the second portion of theinsulative overmold 708 a and tails 710 as well as the second portion ofthe insulative overmold 808 a and tails 810 and also the second portionof the insulative overmold 908 a and tails 910. In this manner, theterminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d may be stacked ina nested fashion. This configuration configures each of the tails 710,810, 910, and 1010 to be mounted to printed circuit board 508 even whenthe terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d are arrangedin a stacked configuration.

As shown in FIGS. 11A-11B, second portions of insulative overmolds andtails of terminal subassemblies arranged lower in the stack may bearranged more proximate the slot 1202 of housing 504, along the pluggingdirection of a transceiver. For example, second portion of theinsulative overmold 1008 a and tails 1010 are arranged most proximatethe slot 1202, while second portion of the insulative overmold 908 a andtails 910 are arranged second most proximate the slot 1202, the secondportion of the insulative overmold 808 a and tails 810 are arrangedthird most proximate the slot 1202, and finally, second portion of theinsulative overmold 708 a and tails 710 are arranged least proximate theslot 1202.

FIG. 12A shows an exploded view of a stack of the terminal subassemblies502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d and a housing 504. FIG. 12B shows thestack of the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 dassembled with the housing 504. FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate that thecontact portions of the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and502 d may be inserted into a housing 504 having a slot 1202 so as toalign the upper and lower walls of a slot. The housing 504 may compriseat least one retention member 1204, such as an opening formed in housing504, configured to engaged with at least one retention member 1206 ofthe terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d, such as aprojection from terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 dconfigured to be inserted into such an opening.

FIG. 13A shows an exploded view of ground clips 602 and a stack of theterminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d. FIG. 13B shows adetail view of a step of assembling ground clips 602 with the stack ofthe terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d. FIG. 13Cshows a top view of the of ground clips 602 assembled with the stack ofthe terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d. FIG. 13Dshows a cutaway view of the of ground clips 602 assembled with the stackof the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d.

FIG. 13A 13B, 13C, and 13D illustrates attaching a member to provide acommon ground for ground terminals of the terminal subassemblies 502 a,502 b, 502 c, and 502 d. In the illustrative embodiment, a ground membercomprises a ground clip 602, which connects together ground conductorsin all of the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d. Theground clips 602 may be configured to electrically couple each of theterminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d together and toground each of the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 dto a printed circuit board 508.

In the illustrative embodiments of FIGS. 13A, 13B, 13C, and 13D, thereare two ground clips 602, one on each end of the rows of conductiveelements 704 a, 704 b, 804 a, 804 b, 904 a, 904 b, 1004 a, and 1004 bwithin each terminal subassembly 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d. In thismanner, the ground clips 602 may provide a first conductive member and asecond conductive member adjacent the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502b, 502 c, and 502 d. However, the technology of present disclosure isnot limited by the number of group clips used, and variousconfigurations may include more than two ground clips, for example,three, four, or more than four ground clips.

In embodiments where two or more ground clips 602 are employed, theground clips may be electrically coupled together. In some embodiments,a plurality of ground clips 602 may be electrically coupled to eachother via internal electrical conductors of one or more terminalsubassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, or 502 d, such as a ground shield706, 806, 906, or 1006. In such embodiments each ground clip 602 may be,coupled to a ground conductor of each terminal subassembly 502 a, 502 b,502 c, and 502 d.

Ground clip 602 is illustrated with a plurality of slots 1306 a, 1306 b,1306 c, and 1306 d into which a ground conductor of a respectiveterminal subassembly 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d may be pressed so asto make electrical connection. For example, slot 1306 a of the groundclip 602 may be configured to couple to ground shield 706 of terminalsubassembly 502 a, slot 1306 b of the ground clip 602 may be configuredto couple to ground shield 806 of terminal subassembly 502 b, slot 1306c of the ground clip 602 may be configured to couple to ground shield906 of terminal subassembly 502 c, and slot 1306 d of the ground clip602 may be configured to couple to ground shield 1006 of terminalsubassembly 502 d.

Alternatively or additionally, the ground clip 602 may be electricallycoupled to each other via conductors of a printed circuit board 508 orother conductors external to the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b,502 c, and 502 d. To support connections to a ground structure in aprinted circuit board 508, each ground clip 602 may include at least onetail 1304. The tail 1304 may be configured to connected to acorresponding conductive element of a printed circuit board 508 in orderto couple the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d tothe conductive element of the printed circuit board 508.

Tails 1304 of ground clip 602 may comprise pressfit tails. Inembodiments in which tails 1304 of ground clip 602 comprise pressfittails, a pressfit tail of the ground clip 602 may be inserted into acorresponding conductive hole of a printed circuit board 508 in order tocouple the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d to theconductive hole of the printed circuit board 508. While FIGS. 13A, 13B,13C, and 13D illustrate the tails 1304 of ground clips 602 as pressfittails, other configurations are possible. For example tails 1304 ofground clip 602 may be configured to be coupled to a printed circuitboard 508 via soldering and other methods.

In embodiments that include a ground clip 602 with tails 1304 for makingground connections to a printed circuit board 508, ground tails ofground clip 602 may be the sole ground tails extending from the terminalsubassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d. In other embodiments, theterminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d may include otherground tails than ground tails of ground clips 602. For example, some ofthe conductive elements 704 a, 704 b, 804 a, 804 b, 904 a, 904 b, 1004a, (in some embodiments, some of the first types of the conductiveelements 704 a, 804 a, 904 a, and 1004 a) designated as groundconductors in a row may have intermediate portions bent at 90 degrees,with tails extending from the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502c, and 502 d so as to provide additional ground tails, for example, atleast some of tails 710, 810, 910, or 1010.

Electrical coupling between the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502c, and 502 d and ground clips 602 may result from mechanical coupling ofthe terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d. As shown inFIG. 13B, a ground clip 602 may fit within features 1302 of each of theterminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d. In theillustrative embodiment of FIG. 13B, the features 1302 are openings ofthe housing of the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 dinto which the ground clips 602 are inserted. The openings of theterminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d may expose therespective ground conductors (such as ground shields 706, 806, 906, or1006), or conductive members coupled to the ground conductors, of eachof the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d. The clips602, for example, may be coupled to the ends of the shields.

The ground clip 602 may be configured to slide into the feature 1302 inan insertion direction perpendicular to a stacking direction of theterminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d. This insertiondirection of the ground clip 602 may provide additional mechanicalcoupling of the stack of terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and502 d. The insertion direction may be antiparallel to a pluggingdirection of a transceiver configured to be inserted into the receptacleconnector 500.

FIG. 14A shows a step of assembling organizer 506 with the stack of theterminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d. FIG. 14B showsthe organizer 506 assembled with the stack of the terminal subassemblies502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d. FIGS. 14A and 14B show attaching anorganizer 506 to the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502d. In the illustrated embodiment, the organizer 506 is an insulativecomponent, such as molded plastic. The floor of the organizer has slots1402, 1404, 1406, and 1408 configured to receive the contact tails 710,810, 910, and 1010 of the first type of conductive elements 704 a, 804a, 904 a, and 1004 a. For example, tails 710 may be engaged with slots1408, tails 810 may be engaged with slots 1406, tails 910 may be engagedwith slots 1404, and tails 1010 may be engaged with slots 1402. Theorganizer 506 provides mechanical support to the contact tails 710, 810,910, and 1010, which reduces the risk of damage upon insertion of thosecontact tails 710, 810, 910, and 1010 into holes in a printed circuitboard 508 for making electrical connections between the receptacleconnector 500 and signal traces within the printed circuit board 508.

Additionally, the organizer 506 has walls, extending perpendicularly tothe floor, on either side of the stack of terminal subassemblies 502 a,502 b, 502 c, and 502 d. The walls of the organizer 506 may be formedhaving attachment features 1410 configured to attach the organizer 506to the stack of terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d.In some embodiments, the attachment features 1410 comprise springfingers formed from the insulative component. Such spring fingers maydeflect away from the stack of terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502c, and 502 d when the organizer is engaged with the stack of terminalsubassemblies. The spring fingers may then return to an undeflectedposition after engagement with the stack of terminal subassemblies 502a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d and include angled surfaces which preventremoval of the organizer.

FIG. 15A shows a step of assembling cage 1502 with the stack of theterminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d. FIG. 15B showsthe cage 1502 assembled with the stack of the terminal subassemblies 502a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d. In FIG. 15B, the cage 1502 is illustrated aspartially translucent to illustrate the exterior and the interior of thecage 1502. As shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, the walls may be shaped withattachment features 1504, which attach the organizer 506 to attachmentfeatures 1506 of a cage 1502. Because of the generally U-shape of theorganizer 506 (though different shapes are also possible), attaching thewalls of the organizer 506 to the cage 1502 enables the floor of theorganizer 506 to also support the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b,502 c, and 502 d within the cage 1502.

The organizer 506 may additionally prevent removal of the ground clips602, for example, along a direction antiparallel to the insertiondirection of the ground clips 602. The organizer 506 may prevent theremoval of the ground clips 602 by physical interference. For example,the organizer may prevent the ground clips 602 from being removed fromthe stack of terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d byphysically blocking any removal of the ground clips 602.

As discussed above, techniques described herein may improve signalintegrity by reducing the tolerance between mating contact portions ofconductive elements within a receptacle connector and mating contactportions of conductive elements within a plug connector configured to beinserted into the receptacle connector. Techniques for reducingtolerance may enable mating contact portions of connectors to reliablyfunction with reduced wipe during mating, which in turn, may reduce thelength of stubs in the mating interface of mated connectors, which mayimprove signal integrity.

For example, terminal subassemblies may engage with a cage, where thecage is stamped by a die and therefore has low variation in dimensions.By engaging the terminal subassemblies directly to features of the cage,contact portions of the terminal subassemblies may be positioned withlow variability. The position of a plug mated with the receptacleconnector may also be established by engaging the plug with features onthe cage, leading to less variability from connector to connector.

By reducing variability of the relative position of connectors, the plugconfigured for mating with the receptacle connector may be designed withshorter pads, in turn reducing stub lengths. By reducing stub lengths,resonances may occur at frequencies that do not interfere with operationof the connector, even at relatively high frequencies, such as up to atleast 25 GHz, up to at least 56 GHz or up to at least 112 GHz, up to atleast 200 GHz, or greater, according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate the receptacle connector 500 being insertedinto the cage 1502. Cage 1502 may be formed from similar materials andaccording to similar techniques as cage 510. Cables 712, 812, 912, and1012 may extend through rear opening 1516 of cage 1502. In someembodiments, cage 1502 includes a top opening 1514 configured such thata heat sink may extend through the opening 1514 into the cage 1502 tocontact and/or cool a transceiver disposed in the cage 1502.

In the illustrated embodiment, the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b,502 c, and 502 d are positioned by engagement between features on thecage 1502 and features on the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502c, and 502 d. Accordingly, the position of the terminal subassemblies502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d may be established directly relative tocage 1502, which may be stamped by a die with low variation indimensions. In this case, the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502c, and 502 d are attached directly to the cage 1502 by an interferencefit of projections 1508 a, 1508 b, 1508 c, and 1508 d of an insulativeportion of respective terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and502 d that extend into slots 1510 in the cage 1502. In otherembodiments, mechanisms other than the exemplary projections 1508 a,1508 b, 1508 c, and 1508 d and slots 1510 may be used to engage the cage1502 so as to position the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c,and 502 d. In the illustrated embodiment, the slots 1510 in the cage1502 are perpendicular to the insertion direction such that engagementbetween the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d andcage 1502 fixes the position of the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b,502 c, and 502 d with respect to the insertion direction. The slots 1510may be elongated perpendicular to the insertion direction.

As noted above, the position of a plug mated with the receptacleconnector 500 may also be established with low variability by engagingthe mating plug with features on the cage 1502. When both the stack ofterminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d and a mating plugare positioned directly with respect to the cage 1502, there may be lessvariability from connector to connector, leading to shorter pads, inturn reducing stub lengths and increasing operating frequency.

As illustrated, the insulative portions of the overmold around theconductive elements 704 a, 704 b, 804 a, 804 b, 904 a, 904 b, 1004 a,and 1004 b are shaped with projections 1508 a, 1508 b, 1508 c, and 1508d that engage with a feature of the cage 1502, holding the receptacleconnector 500 in the cage 1502. Those projections 1508 a, 1508 b, 1508c, and 1508 d, for example, may form an interference fit with a slot1510 in the cage 1502. Additional mechanical support for the receptacleconnector 500 may be provided by engaging features 1504 of the organizer506 with complementary features 1506 of the cage 1502. For example, tabsof the organizer 506 may function as latches, engaging openings in thatcage 1502. Conversely, tabs projecting from the walls of the cage 1502may engage with the edges of openings or other surfaces molded into theorganizer 506.

In the illustrated embodiment, the cage 1502 includes a channel intowhich a plug may be inserted for mating with the illustrated I/Oconnector. Positioning the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c,and 502 d with respect to the cage 1502 may position the contactportions of the conductive elements 704 a, 704 b, 804 a, 804 b, 904 a,904 b, 1004 a, and 1004 b within the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502b, 502 c, and 502 d at a predetermined location within the channel formating with pads on a plug connector. This positioning may be achievedwith small variability from connector to connector as a result of theaccurate positioning of the conductive elements 704 a, 704 b, 804 a, 804b, 904 a, 904 b, 1004 a, and 1004 b within the terminal subassemblies502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d and the engagement of the terminalsubassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 502 c, and 502 d with the cage 1502 toprovide accurate positioning of the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b,502 c, and 502 d with respect to the cage 1502. As a result, a plug formating with such a receptacle connector 500 may be designed to provideonly a small amount of wipe, which improves high frequency performanceof the connector system.

As shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, the cage 1502 may have pressfit tails1512 extending from a lower edge or other portion of the cage 1502 forinsertion into corresponding holes in the printed circuit board 508. Insome embodiments, the pressfits 1512 of the cage 1502 position the cage1502 relative to the printed circuit board 508. The pressfits 1512 ofthe cage 1502 may be larger than pressfits (such as tails 710, 810, 910,or 1010) of the conductive elements 704 a, 704 b, 804 a, 804 b, 904 a,904 b, 1004 a, and 1004 b ending from the receptacle connector 500 insome embodiments. The pressfits 1512 of the cage 1502 may providesubstantially more retention force than pressfits (such as tails 710,810, 910, or 1010) of the receptacle connector 500 such as a multiple of1.5 or more greater retention force. Accordingly, securing thereceptacle connector 500 to the cage 1502 may provide substantialrobustness to the overall I/O connector assembly.

Additional robustness may be provided by engaging the strain reliefovermolds 708 b, 808 b, 908 b, and 1008 b to that cage 1502 as well. Asshown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, the strain relief overmolds 708 b, 808 b,908 b, and 1008 b extend past the rear edge of the organizer 506. Thestrain relief overmolds 708 b, 808 b, 908 b, and 1008 b also extendthrough the rear wall of the cage 1502 at the rear opening 1516 of thecage 1502. In some embodiments, the strain relief overmolds 708 b, 808b, 908 b, and 1008 b may be sized to make an interference fit wheninserted into the cage 1502.

FIGS. 16A-26B illustrate an alternative embodiment of a receptacleconnector 1600. In the illustrated embodiments of FIGS. 16A-26B, similarelements may be formed using materials and techniques as described abovein connection with FIGS. 5A-15B.

FIG. 16A illustrates a receptacle connector 1600 configured for routingsignals between a mating interface as well as both a printed circuitboard 1608 and cables (for example, cables 1812, 1912, 2012, and 2112described below) extending to the midboard of the printed circuit board1608. FIG. 16B illustrates a cage 1610 such as might surround areceptacle connector 1600 in FIG. 16A, with a stack configuration. Achannel may be formed by front opening 1612 in the cage 610, frontopening 1612 being configured to receive a transceiver along a pluggingdirection. FIG. 17 illustrates the receptacle connector 1600 of FIG.16A. The receptacle connector 1600 and cage 1610 of FIGS. 16A, 16B, and17 differ from the receptacle connector 500 and cage 510 of FIGS. 5A,5B, and 6 at least in that the receptacle connector 1600 and cage 1610of FIG. 16A 16B, and 17 are formed to accommodate a differentarrangement of a ground member, ground staple 1702, and a differentarrangement of pressfit tails of the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602b, 1602 c, and 1602 d. Cage 1610 may include a top opening 1614configured such that a heat sink may extend through the opening 1614into the cage 1610 to contact and/or cool a transceiver disposed in thecage 1610.

FIGS. 18A and 18B illustrate an upper outer terminal subassembly 1602 a,providing a row of contact portions for first conductive elements 1804 aand second conductive elements 1804 b, disposed in an insulativeovermold 1808 a, within the receptacle connector 1600 of FIG. 16A. FIGS.19A and 19B illustrate an upper inner terminal subassembly 1602 b,providing a row of contact portions for first conductive elements 1904 aand second conductive elements 1904 b, disposed in an insulativeovermold 1908 a, within the receptacle connector 1600 of FIG. 16A. FIGS.20A and 20B illustrate a lower inner terminal subassembly 1602 c,providing a row of contact portions for first conductive elements 2004 aand second conductive elements 2004 b, disposed in an insulativeovermold 2008 a, within the receptacle connector 1600 of FIG. 16A. FIGS.21A and 21B illustrate a lower outer terminal subassembly 1602 d,providing a row of contact portions for first conductive elements 2104 aand second conductive elements 2104 b, disposed in an insulativeovermold 2108 a, within the receptacle connector 1600 of FIG. 16A.

Each terminal subassembly may include additional features. Strain reliefovermolds 1808 b, 1908 b, 2008 b, and 2108 b, may respectively be formedaround cables 1812, 1912, 2012, and 2112. Respective portions of theinsulative overmolds 1808 a, 1908 a, 2008 a, and 2108 a may hold onlythe first types of conductive elements 1804 a, 1904 a, 2004 a, and 2104a, respectively configured with tails 1810, 1910, 2010, and 2110 forattachment to printed circuit board 1608

The terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d of FIGS.18A-21B differ from the terminal subassemblies 502 a, 502 b, 512 c, and502 d of FIGS. 7A-10B in one or several ways. For example, the terminalsubassembly 1602 a illustrated in FIG. 18A includes a shorting barsubassembly that includes two respective shorting bars 1802. Theterminal subassembly 1602 d illustrated in FIG. 21A includes tworespective shorting bars 2122 that each connects a portions of theground conductors in a row, rather than one shorting bar, such as 702,spanning the entire row.

In addition or in alternative, the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602b, 1602 c, and 1602 d of FIGS. 18A-21B include features that accommodatea different ground member that connects together the grounds in adjacentrows. In the illustrated embodiment, the ground member is implemented asa ground staple 1702. In the illustrated embodiment, ground staple 1702does not include contact tails for making connection to a groundstructure within a printed circuit board 1608. Rather, the two lowermostterminal subassemblies include additional tails. Second lowermostterminal subassembly 1602 c illustrated in FIGS. 20A-20B includes outertails 2002 a and 2002 b, and the lowermost terminal subassembly 1602 dillustrated in FIGS. 21A-21B include outer tails 2102 a and 2012 b.Ground staple 1702 contacts these outer tails 2002 a, 2002 b, 2102 a and2012 b, so as to complete a conducting path to the ground structures ofthe printed circuit board 1608 to which a receptacle connector 1600 asillustrated is mounted.

Outer tails 2002 a, 2002 b, 2102 a, and 2102 b are illustrated in thisexample as pressfit tails. In embodiments where the tails comprisepressfit tails, a pressfit tail may be configured to be inserted into acorresponding conductive hole of a printed circuit board 1608 in orderto couple the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 dto the conductive hole of the printed circuit board 1608. While FIGS.20A-20B and 21A-21B illustrate the tails 2002 a, 2002 b, 2102 a, and2102 b as pressfit tails, other configurations are possible. Forexample, tails 2002 a, 2002 b, 2102 a, and 2102 b may be configured tobe coupled to a printed circuit board 1608 via soldering and othermethods.

In some embodiments, outer pressfits are configured to ground each ofthe terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d to aprinted circuit board 1608 as a result of a connection to ground staple1702 which is in turn connected to the ground structure within eachterminal subassembly 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d. In someembodiments, outer pressfits may be portions of the ground conductors ofthe terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d. In someembodiments, outer pressfits are electrically coupled to groundterminals of the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602d via electrical conductors internal to the terminal subassemblies, suchas one of the illustrated ground shields 1806, 1906, 2006, or 2106.Alternatively or additionally, the ground structures within the terminalsubassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d may be connected toground structures within the printed circuit board 1608 in other ways.For example, ground staple 1702 may press against a ground pad on asurface of the printed circuit board 1608. Ground staple 1702 mayinclude spring fingers or other compliant structures to facilitate sucha connection.

In embodiments that include a ground tail, when the terminalsubassemblies are stacked, ground outer tails 2002 a, 2002 b, 2102 a,and 2102 b may act as the sole ground tails of the terminalsubassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d. In other embodiments,the terminal subassemblies may include other ground tails than outertails 2002 a, 2002 b, 2102 a, and 2102 b, for example, at least some oftails 1810, 1910, 2010, or 2110.

FIGS. 22A, 22B, and 22C illustrate steps of aligning and engaging theterminal subassemblies of FIGS. 18A- 21B during manufacture of areceptacle connector. The terminal subassemblies illustrated therein mayvary from the terminal subassemblies illustrated in FIGS. 11A, 11B, and11C in that they include an alternative arrangement of aligning members.The aligning members of FIGS. 22A, 22B, and 22C comprise rib (forexample ribs 1918 or 2018) and slot (for example, slots 1816 or 1916)arrangements rather than the dowel arrangements illustrated in FIGS.11A, 11B, and 11C. The rib and slot arrangements provide coarsealignment of the terminal subassemblies. In some embodiments, engagementfeatures 2020 formed from insulative overmold 2008 a of terminalsubassembly 1602 c may be configured to nest with complementaryengagement features 2120 formed from insulative 2108 a of terminalsubassembly 1602 d to provide coarse alignment of terminal subassembly1602 c with terminal subassembly 1602 d rather than or in addition to arib and slot arrangement. In embodiments utilizing such coarse alignmenttechniques, the ground staple 1702, and/or features on cage 2602(described in further detail below) and/or other structures may providea fine alignment. In the illustrated embodiment, the alignment membersenable relative sliding of the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b,1602 c, and 1602 d in a direction parallel to the mating direction ofthe receptacle connector 1600. Fine alignment may set the position ofthe terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d in thisdirection. As a result, fine alignment features may determine theposition of the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602d in the mating direction relative to each other and/or relative to achannel in a cage 2602 where a plug connector may be inserted.

A feature of the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602d configured to support stacking of the terminal subassemblies 1602 a,1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d may include at least one opening formed in aninsulative overmold 1808 a, 1908 a, 2008 a, or 2108 a or formed in astrain relief overmold 1808 b, 1908 b, 2008 b, or 2108 b. For example,strain relief overmold 1908 b includes an opening 1914 aligned with andconfigured to receive a portion of the insulative overmold 1808 a andtails 1810. Strain relief overmold 2008 b includes an opening 2014(larger than opening 1914) aligned with and configured to receive aportion of the insulative overmold 1808 a and tails 1810 as well as aportion of the insulative overmold 1908 a and tails 1910. Strain reliefovermold 2108 b includes an opening 2114 (larger than opening 2014)aligned with and configured to receive 1 portion of the insulativeovermold 1808 a and tails 1810 as well as a of the insulative overmold1908 a and tails 1910 and also a portion of the insulative overmold 2008a and tails 2010. In this manner, the terminal subassemblies 1602 a,1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d may be stacked in a nested fashion. Thisconfiguration configures each of the tails 1810, 1910, 2010, and 2110 tobe mounted to printed circuit board 1608 even when the terminalsubassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d are arranged in astacked configuration.

As shown in FIG. 22B, portions of insulative overmolds and tails ofterminal subassemblies arranged lower in the stack may be arranged moreproximate a slot 2402 (described in further detail below) of housing1604, along the plugging direction of a transceiver. For example, aportion of the insulative overmold 2108 a and tails 2110 are arrangedmost proximate the slot 2402, while a portion of the insulative overmold2008 a and tails 2010 are arranged second most proximate the slot 2402,a portion of the insulative overmold 1908 a and tails 1910 are arrangedthird most proximate the slot 2402, and finally, a portion of theinsulative overmold 1808 a and tails 1810 are arranged least proximatethe slot 2402.

FIG. 23A shows an exploded view of ground staple 1702 and a stack of theterminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d. FIG. 23Bshows the ground staple 1702 assembled with the stack of the terminalsubassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d. FIG. 23C shows a topview of the of ground staple 1702 assembled with the stack of theterminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d. FIG. 23Dshows a cutaway view of the of ground staple 1702 assembled with thestack of the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d.FIG. 23E shows a detail cutaway view of the of ground staple 1702assembled with the stack of the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b,1602 c, and 1602 d.

FIGS. 23A, 23B, 23C, and 23D illustrate a step of attaching a groundstaple 1702 to the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and1602 d as shown in FIG. 22C. The ground staple 1702 may electricallyconnect the ground conductors in the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602b, 1602 c, and 1602 d to each other and provide for a connection togrounding structures within the printed circuit board 1608 to which thereceptacle connector 1600 is attached. The step of attaching the groundstaple 1702 differs from the step of attaching the ground clips 602 inthat the step of attaching the ground staple 1702 occurs before a stepof inserting the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602d into a housing 1604, whereas the step of attaching the ground clips602 occurs after a step of inserting the terminal subassemblies 502 a,502 b, 502 c, and 502 d into a housing 504. Moreover, the ground staple1702 is inserted in a direction perpendicular to the mating direction,rather than antiparallel with the mating direction.

In the illustrated embodiment, ground staple 1702 is implemented as asingle member with two arms 1704 a and 1704 b that are inserted intorespective channels 2302 on the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b,1602 c, and 1602 d. The channels 2302 are shown at opposing ends of therows of conductive elements 1804 a, 1804 b, 1904 a, 1904 b, 2004 a, 2004b, 2104 a, and 2104 b within the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b,1602 c, and 1602 d. In such embodiments, the ground staple 1702 may bemade of metal such that the inserted members may be electrically coupledtogether. In other embodiments, a plurality of ground members, each ofwhich may be shaped as one arm of ground staple 1702 may be insertedchannels 2302 in the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and1602 d separately. The inserted members may be separately connected togrounds within the receptacle connector 1600 and within the printedcircuit board 1608 to which the receptacle connector 1600 is mounted. Inthis manner, at least one ground staple 1702, or another ground membermay provide a first conductive member and a second conductive memberadjacent the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d.

In some embodiments, the arms 1704 a and 1704 b of the ground staple1702 may be arranged in a plane defined by both a plugging direction ofa transceiver and a direction normal to a printed circuit board. In suchembodiments, the plane that arms 1704 a and 1704 b of the ground staple1702 are arranged in may be normal to each of the row directions of eachof the rows of conductive elements 1804 a, 1804 b, 1904 a, 1904 b, 2004a, 2004 b, 2104 a, and 2104 b.

Ground staple 1702 may be connected to the ground structure of a printedcircuit board 1608 to which the receptacle connector 1600 is mountedthrough outer tails 2002 a, 2002 b, 2102 a, and 2102 b. In theillustrated embodiment, outer tails 2002 a, 2002 b, 2102 a, and 2102 bhave an edge or surface exposed in the channels 2302 into which groundstaple 1702 is inserted. In the embodiment illustrated, outer tails 2002a, 2002 b, 2102 a, and 2102 b have a portion exposed at the reward sideof the channel 2302, such as edge 2306 a corresponding to tail 2002 a oredge 2306 b corresponding to tail 2102 a. As described below inconnection with the fine alignment function of the ground staple 1702,the ground staple 1702 may be biased so that an edge of the groundstaple 1702 presses against the rearward side of the channel 2302. Thus,an electrical connection may be made between the ground staple 1702 andtails 2002 a, 2002 b, 2102 a, and 2102 b that may be connected to theground structure of a printed circuit board 1608.

While the ground staples 1702 illustrated in FIGS. 23A, 23B, 23C, and23D are not depicted as having a tail, a ground staple 1702 may includeat least one tail. The tail may be configured to make connection to acorresponding conductive element of a printed circuit board 1608 inorder to couple the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and1602 d to the ground structure of the printed circuit board 1608. Tailsof ground staple 1702 may be formed using materials and techniques asdescribed above in connection with the ground clips 602 illustrated inFIGS. 13A, 13B, 13C, and 13D. In some embodiments, ground staple 1702may be stamped from a sheet of metal such that the relative position ofthe features of ground staple 1702 may be established with highprecision by a stamping die.

In addition to providing electrical coupling of the terminalsubassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d, the ground staples1702 may aid in fine alignment of the terminal subassemblies 1602 a,1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d. As shown in FIG. 23A, a ground staple 1702may be coupled with corresponding ground conductors of each of theterminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d. In theillustrative embodiment of FIG. 23A, the terminal subassemblies 1602 a,1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d have openings that are aligned to formchannels 2302 into which the ground staple 1702 is inserted.

FIG. 23B illustrates such biasing members 2304 a, 2304 b, 2304 c, and2304 d pressing against one leg of ground staple 1702. Similar biasingmembers may press against the other legs. Biasing members 2304 a, 2304b, 2304 c, and 2304 d from the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b,1602 c, and 1602 d may extend into the channel 2302 and press againstedge 2312 of the of ground staple 1702. As a result of force exerted bythe biasing members 2304 a, 2304 b, 2304 c, and 2304 d on edge 2312,edge 2314 may be urged towards the back wall of the channel 2302. Theportions of the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602d forming the back wall of the channel 2302 will be urged intoengagement with edge 2314 such that the terminal subassemblies 1602 a,1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d may be aligned by that edge 2314. Edge 2312may be arranged not parallel, (as illustrated, having an acute anglemeasured internal to ground staple 1702) relative to the edge 2314. Edge2312 having such an angle may ensure that the ground staple 1702 isurged towards the back of channel 2302. When the ground staple 1702 isinserted, biasing portions 2304 a, 2304 b, 2304 c, and 2304 d will reacton the ground staple 1702 along a direction normal to edge 2312. Acomponent of that normal reactive force will be along a direction normalthe insertion direction, urging ground staple 1702 towards the back ofchannel 2302. Because edge 2314 may be formed by stamping and has ashape that is precise, the relative positions of the terminalsubassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d may be precisely set.

In the embodiment illustrated, the biasing members 2304 a, 2304 b, 2304c, and 2304 d are tabs extending from the terminal subassemblies 1602 a,1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d into the channel 2302. Those tabs act asspring fingers, exerting a force on edge 2312. Those tabs may be formedas portions of the stamping of a metal sheet that forms the conductiveelements 1804 a, 1804 b, 1904 a, 1904 b, 2004 a, 2004 b, 2104 a, and2104 b of the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d.In embodiments in which the staple 1702 serves both to position andground the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d,the tabs may be electrically coupled to conductive elements 1804 a, 1804b, 1904 a, 1904 b, 2004 a, 2004 b, 2104 a, and 2104 b serving as groundconductors in the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and1602 d or as a result of connection between the tabs and groundconductors, such as through the ground shields 1808, 1908, 2008, or2108, or shorting bars. That coupling may result, for example, from thetabs being integrally formed with the ground conductors and/or thecommon ground shields 1808, 1908, 2008, or 2108.

The ground clip 1702 may be configured to slide into the channels 2302in an insertion direction aligned with a stacking direction of theterminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d. The groundstaple 1702 may then be bent around an upper one of the terminalsubassemblies 1602 a or a lower one of the terminal assemblies 1602 d toretain the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d ina stacked arrangement. The insertion direction may be perpendicular to aplugging direction of a transceiver configured to be inserted into thereceptacle connector 1600.

FIG. 24A shows an exploded view of a stack of the terminal subassemblies1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d and a housing 1604. FIG. 24B showsthe stack of the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602d assembled with the housing 1604. FIGS. 24A and 24B show a step ofmanufacturing the receptacle connector where the contact portion of theconductive elements 1804 a, 1804 b, 1904 a, 1904 b, 2004 a, 2004 b, 2104a, and 2104 b in the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and1602 d are inserted into a housing 1604, where a slot 2402 is formed inthe housing 1604. By inserting the contact portion of the conductiveelements 1804 a, 1804 b, 1904 a, 1904 b, 2004 a, 2004 b, 2104 a, and2104 b in the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d,two walls of the slot 2402 are lined with contacts so as to engage apaddle card, such as the paddle card of FIGS. 4A and 4B, when the paddlecard is inserted in the slot 2402.

FIG. 25A shows a step of assembling organizer 1606 with the stack of theterminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d. FIG. 25Bshows the organizer 1606 assembled with the stack of the terminalsubassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d. FIGS. 25A and 25B showa step of manufacturing the receptacle connector where an insulativeorganizer 1606 is attached to the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b,1602 c, and 1602 d. The insulative organizer 1606 may provide mechanicalsupport to pressfit contact tails 1810, 1910, 2010, and 2110 extendingfrom the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d andextending through the insulative organizer 1606. By supporting thepressfit contact tails, the insulative organizer 1606 providesmechanical support to the terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c,and 1602 d. For example, tails 1810 may be engaged with slots 2508,tails 1910 may be engaged with slots 2506, tails 2010 may be engagedwith slots 2504, and tails 2110 may be engaged with slots 2502. Theorganizer 1606 may be formed having attachment features 2510 (in someembodiments spring fingers) configured to attach the organizer 1606 tothe stack of terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d.

As discussed above, techniques described herein may improve signalintegrity by reducing the tolerance between mating contact portions ofconductive elements within a receptacle connector and mating contactportions of conductive elements within a plug connector configured to beinserted into the receptacle connector. Techniques for reducingtolerance may enable mating contact portions of connectors to reliablyfunction with reduced wipe during mating, which in turn, may reduce thelength of stubs in the mating interface of mated connectors, which mayimprove signal integrity.

For example, terminal subassemblies may engage with a cage, where thecage is stamped by a die and therefore has low variation in dimensions.By engaging the terminal subassemblies directly to features of the cage,contact portions of the terminal subassemblies may be positioned withlow variability. The position of a plug mated with the receptacleconnector may also be established by engaging the plug with features onthe cage, leading to less variability from connector to connector.

Alternatively or additionally, variability in position of the contactportions of terminal subassemblies may be reduced by an alignment memberengaging with the terminal subassemblies. Terminal subassemblies may bepressed against the alignment member, thereby establishing the positionsof each terminal subassembly relative to the alignment member. Multipleterminal subassemblies may be positioned relative to the alignmentmember, and therefore with respect to each other, with low variability.The alignment member may be produced with low variability, such as bystamping metal.

By reducing variability of the relative position of connectors, the plugconfigured for mating with the receptacle connector may be designed withshorter pads, in turn reducing stub lengths. By reducing stub lengths,resonances may occur at frequencies that do not interfere with operationof the connector, even at relatively high frequencies, such as up to atleast 25 GHz, up to at least 56 GHz or up to at least 112 GHz, up to atleast 200 GHz, or greater, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 26A shows a step of assembling cage 2602 with the stack of theterminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d. FIG. 26Bshows the cage 1602 assembled with the stack of the terminalsubassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d. In FIG. 26B, the cage1602 is illustrated as partially translucent to illustrate the exteriorand the interior of the cage 1602. FIGS. 26A and 26B show a step ofmanufacturing the receptacle connector 1600 where receptacle connectoris inserted into a cage. Cage 2602 may be formed from similar materialsand according to similar techniques as cage 1610. Cables 1812, 1912,2012, and 2112 may extend through rear opening 2616 of cage 2602. Insome embodiments, cage 2602 includes a top opening 2614 configured suchthat a heat sink may extend through the opening 2614 into the cage 2602to contact and/or cool a transceiver disposed in the cage 2602. Cage1602 may comprise pressfit tails 2612 constructed from the samematerials and according to the same techniques as pressfit tails 1512.For example, the pressfits 2612 of the cage 2602 may be larger thanpressfits (such as tails 1810, 1910, 2010, or 2110) of receptacleconnector 1600, so as to provide substantially more retention force thanthe pressfits (such as tails 1810, 1910, 2010, or 2010) of thereceptacle connector 1600 (such as a multiple of 1.5 or more greaterretention force).

The terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d may beattached directly to the cage 2602. In this configuration, engagementbetween the stack of terminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and1602 d and cage 2602 is by an interference fit, or by otherwiseengaging, projections of an insulative portion of the terminalsubassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d, for example,projection 2608 a of terminal subassembly 1602 b and projection 2608 bof terminal subassembly 1602 c, with a slot 2610 in the cage 2602. Theslots 1510 may be elongated perpendicular to the insertion direction.

Accordingly, the position of the terminal subassemblies may beestablished directly relative to cage 2602, which may be stamped by adie with low variation in dimensions. Additional alignment may beprovided by ground staple 1702 (which may be stamped from metal) asdescribed above. Additional mechanical support for the receptacleconnector 1600 may be provided by engaging features 2604 of theorganizer 1606 with complementary features 2606 of the cage 2602 and/ormay be provided by engaging features 2618 of the housing 1604 withcomplementary features 2620 of the cage 2602.

As noted above, the position of a plug mated with the receptacleconnector 1600 may also be established with low variability by engagingthe mating plug with features on the cage 2602. When both the stack ofterminal subassemblies 1602 a, 1602 b, 1602 c, and 1602 d and a matingplug are positioned directly with respect to the cage 2602, there may beless variability from connector to connector, leading to shorter pads,in turn reducing stub lengths and increasing operating frequency.

One or more members have been described as lossy or as made ofconductive plastic. Conductive plastic members are an example of lossymembers. Such members may be formed from or include plastic that ismodified so as to be partially conductive. Plastic materials may beeasily molded into a desired shape or inserted into a desired locationwithin a connector. But, lossy members may be formed in other ways.

Any suitable lossy material may be used for these and other structuresthat are “lossy.” Materials that conduct, but with some loss, ormaterial which by another physical mechanism absorbs electromagneticenergy over the frequency range of interest are referred to hereingenerally as “lossy” materials. Electrically lossy materials can beformed from lossy dielectric and/or poorly conductive and/or lossymagnetic materials. Magnetically lossy material can be formed, forexample, from materials traditionally regarded as ferromagneticmaterials, such as those that have a magnetic loss tangent greater thanapproximately 0.05 in the frequency range of interest. The “magneticloss tangent” is the ratio of the imaginary part to the real part of thecomplex electrical permeability of the material. Practical lossymagnetic materials or mixtures containing lossy magnetic materials mayalso exhibit useful amounts of dielectric loss or conductive losseffects over portions of the frequency range of interest. Electricallylossy material can be formed from material traditionally regarded asdielectric materials, such as those that have an electric loss tangentgreater than approximately 0.05 in the frequency range of interest. The“electric loss tangent” is the ratio of the imaginary part to the realpart of the complex electrical permittivity of the material.Electrically lossy materials can also be formed from materials that aregenerally thought of as conductors, but are either relatively poorconductors over the frequency range of interest, contain conductiveparticles or regions that are sufficiently dispersed that they do notprovide high conductivity or otherwise are prepared with properties thatlead to a relatively weak bulk conductivity compared to a good conductorsuch as copper over the frequency range of interest.

Electrically lossy materials typically have a bulk conductivity of about1 Siemen/meter to about 100,000 Siemens/meter and preferably about 1Siemen/meter to about 10,000 Siemens/meter. In some embodiments,material with a bulk conductivity of between about 10 Siemens/meter andabout 200 Siemens/meter may be used. As a specific example, materialwith a conductivity of about 50 Siemens/meter may be used. However, itshould be appreciated that the conductivity of the material may beselected empirically or through electrical simulation using knownsimulation tools to determine a suitable conductivity that provides botha suitably low crosstalk with a suitably low signal path attenuation orinsertion loss.

Electrically lossy materials may be partially conductive materials, suchas those that have a surface resistivity between 1 S2/square and 100,000Ω /square. In some embodiments, the electrically lossy material has asurface resistivity between 10 Ω /square and 1000 Ω /square. As aspecific example, the material may have a surface resistivity of betweenabout 20 Ω /square and 80 Ω /square.

In some embodiments, electrically lossy material is formed by adding toa binder a filler that contains conductive particles. In such anembodiment, a lossy member may be formed by molding or otherwise shapingthe binder with filler into a desired form. Examples of conductiveparticles that may be used as a filler to form an electrically lossymaterial include carbon or graphite formed as fibers, flakes,nanoparticles, or other types of particles. Metal in the form of powder,flakes, fibers or other particles may also be used to provide suitableelectrically lossy properties. Alternatively, combinations of fillersmay be used. For example, metal plated carbon particles may be used.Silver and nickel are suitable metal plating for fibers. Coatedparticles may be used alone or in combination with other fillers, suchas carbon flake. The binder or matrix may be any material that will set,cure, or can otherwise be used to position the filler material. In someembodiments, the binder may be a thermoplastic material traditionallyused in the manufacture of electrical connectors to facilitate themolding of the electrically lossy material into the desired shapes andlocations as part of the manufacture of the electrical connector.Examples of such materials include liquid crystal polymer (LCP) andnylon. However, many alternative forms of binder materials may be used.Curable materials, such as epoxies, may serve as a binder.Alternatively, materials such as thermosetting resins or adhesives maybe used.

Also, while the above described binder materials may be used to createan electrically lossy material by forming a binder around conductingparticle fillers, the invention is not so limited. For example,conducting particles may be impregnated into a formed matrix material ormay be coated onto a formed matrix material, such as by applying aconductive coating to a plastic component or a metal component. As usedherein, the term “binder” encompasses a material that encapsulates thefiller, is impregnated with the filler or otherwise serves as asubstrate to hold the filler.

Preferably, the fillers will be present in a sufficient volumepercentage to allow conducting paths to be created from particle toparticle. For example, when metal fiber is used, the fiber may bepresent in about 3% to 40% by volume. The amount of filler may impactthe conducting properties of the material.

In some embodiments, lossy material might be molded into a desired shapeand location within a connector or other component as the component isbeing manufactured. In other embodiments, the lossy material may beseparately molded or otherwise formed into a desired shape and theninserted into the component. In yet other embodiments, the lossymaterial may be purchased or otherwise acquired as a preform, which maythen be shaped for incorporation into a component. A preform may includean epoxy binder filled with carbon fibers and/or other carbon particles.The binder surrounds carbon particles, which act as a reinforcement forthe preform. Such a preform may be inserted in a connector wafer to formall or part of the housing. In some embodiments, the preform may adherethrough the adhesive in the preform, which may be cured in a heattreating process. In some embodiments, the adhesive may take the form ofa separate conductive or non-conductive adhesive layer. In someembodiments, the adhesive in the preform alternatively or additionallymay be used to secure one or more conductive elements, such as foilstrips, to the lossy material.

Various forms of reinforcing fiber, in woven or non-woven form, coatedor non-coated may be used. Non-woven carbon fiber is one suitablematerial. Other suitable materials, such as custom blends as sold by RTPCompany, can be employed, as the present invention is not limited inthis respect.

In some embodiments, a lossy member may be manufactured by stamping apreform or sheet of lossy material. For example, an insert may be formedby stamping a preform as described above with an appropriate pattern ofopenings. However, other materials may be used instead of or in additionto such a preform. A sheet of ferromagnetic material, for example, maybe used.

However, lossy members also may be formed in other ways. In someembodiments, a lossy member may be formed by interleaving layers oflossy and conductive material such as metal foil. These layers may berigidly attached to one another, such as through the use of epoxy orother adhesive, or may be held together in any other suitable way. Thelayers may be of the desired shape before being secured to one anotheror may be stamped or otherwise shaped after they are held together.Alternatively or additionally, plastic might be plated with a metal orother conductive material. The plating may be sufficiently thin orsufficiently diffuse that the resistivity of the resulting component issufficiently high to provide loss.

Having thus described several embodiments, it is to be appreciatedvarious alterations, modifications, and improvements may readily occurto those skilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications, andimprovements are intended to be within the spirit and scope of theinvention.

For example, FIG. 1 illustrates an electronic device in which a midboardcable termination assembly might be used. It should be appreciated thatFIG. 1 shows a portion of such a device, and the device may includeadditional components not expressly illustrated. For example, board 110may be larger than illustrated and may contain more components thanillustrated. Likewise, board 118 may be larger than illustrated and maycontain components. Moreover, multiple boards parallel to board 118and/or parallel to board 110 may be included in the device.

A midboard cable termination assembly might also be used with boardconfigurations other than the illustrated orthogonal configuration. Themidboard cable termination assembly might be used on a printed circuitboard connected to another, parallel printed circuit board or might beused in a daughter card that plugs into a backplane at a right angle. Asyet another example, the midboard cable termination assembly might bemounted on a backplane.

As yet another example of a possible variation, a midboard cabletermination assembly mounted on board 110 is shown with a cable thatconnects to a connector that is similarly mounted to board 110. Thatconfiguration is not, however, a requirement, as the cable may beconnected directly to the board, an integrated circuit or othercomponent, even directly to the board 110 to which the midboard cabletermination assembly is mounted. As another variation, the cable may beterminated to a different printed circuit board or other substrate. Forexample, a cable extending from a midboard cable termination assemblymounted to board 110 may be terminated, through a connector orotherwise, to a printed circuit board parallel to board 110.Alternatively, cables extending from an I/O connector mounted to a firstprinted circuit board may be terminated to a daughter card containing aprocessor that is attached to the first printed circuit board orotherwise integrated into the electronic device.

As an example of a further variation, a double density, single port I/Oconnector was shown made with four terminal subassemblies, each havingsome conductive elements with tails configured for attachment to aprinted circuit board and other conductive elements with tailsconfigured to terminate a cable. In some embodiments, some terminalsubassemblies may have conductive elements with tails configured forattachment to a printed circuit board without conductive elements withtails configured to terminate a cable, and/or some terminalsubassemblies may have conductive elements with tails configured toterminate a cable without conductive elements with tails configured forattachment to a printed circuit board.

Techniques for making low loss, high frequency connections weredescribed for making connections between an I/O connector and componentsin an electronic system remote from the I/O connector. Techniques asdescribed herein may be used for any of multiple types of components,including microprocessors, graphics processors, FPGAs or ASICs, any ofwhich may receive and/or transmit data at high speeds.

Moreover, a midboard cable termination assembly other than as picturedherein may be used in conjunction with an I/O connector configured formaking cabled connections. More generally, the cables extending from anI/O connector may be terminated in other ways, including directly to aprinted circuit board, device package, to other electrical connectors orother structures.

Further, a system configuration was described in which an I/O connectorreceives a plug of an active optical cable. Techniques as describedherein are not limited to use with active optical cables, and may beused, for example, with connectors that receive active or passive plugsterminating copper cables.

A plug may have other configurations than described herein. For example,a paddle card in a plug, in some configurations, may have pre-wipe padsdisposed between the rows of contact pads 406 and 408 or may be disposedbetween some or all of the contact pads in a row proximate an edge ofthe paddle card and that edge.

Terms signifying direction, such as “upwards” and “downwards,” were usedin connection with some embodiments. These terms were used to signifydirection based on the orientation of components illustrated orconnection to another component, such as a surface of a printed circuitboard to which a termination assembly is mounted. It should beunderstood that electronic components may be used in any suitableorientation. Accordingly, terms of direction should be understood to berelative, rather than fixed to a coordinate system perceived asunchanging, such as the earth’s surface.

Further, though advantages of the present invention are indicated, itshould be appreciated that not every embodiment of the invention willinclude every described advantage. Some embodiments may not implementany features described as advantageous herein and in some instances.Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way ofexample only.

Examples of arrangements that may be implemented according to someembodiments include the following:

A1. An electrical connector comprising:

-   a terminal subassembly, the terminal subassembly comprising:    -   a plurality of conductive elements, wherein:        -   each conductive element of the plurality of conductive            elements comprises a contact portion, a contact tail and an            intermediate portion joining the contact portion and the            contact tail;        -   the contact portions of the plurality of conductive elements            are positioned in a row;        -   the plurality of conductive elements comprises conductive            elements of a first type and a second type;        -   the conductive elements of the first type have intermediate            portions with a 90 degree bend and contact tails configured            for attachment to a printed circuit board; and        -   the conductive elements of the second type have contact            tails configured for a cable termination.

A2. The electrical connector of example A1, wherein the contact portionsof the plurality of conductive elements positioned in a row are arrangedhaving a row direction parallel to a plane of the printed circuit board.

A3. The electrical connector of example A1, wherein:

the conductive elements of the second type have straight intermediateportions.

A4. The electrical connector of example A1, wherein:

the terminal subassembly comprises an insulative portion attached tointermediate portions of the plurality of conductive elements.

A5. The electrical connector of example A4, wherein:

-   the insulative portion of the terminal subassembly comprises a    recess elongated in a direction of the row; and-   the terminal subassembly further comprises:    -   a conductive member held within the insulative portion, the        conductive member electrically coupled to a first portion of the        plurality of conductive elements and electrically insulated from        a second portion of the plurality of conductive elements; and    -   a lossy member disposed in the recess and electrically coupled        to the conductive member.

A6. The electrical connector of example A4, wherein the terminalsubassembly further comprises:

-   a plurality of cables having wires terminated to tails of the    conductive elements of the second type; and-   an overmold around portions of the plurality of cables.

A7. The electrical connector of example A6, wherein:

-   the conductive elements of the first type are disposed in the row    between a first subset of the conductive elements of the second type    and a second subset of the conductive elements of the second type;    and-   the overmold has an opening aligned with the conductive elements of    the first type.

A8. The electrical connector of example A7, wherein:

-   the electrical connector further comprising a conductive cage    comprising conductive walls bounding, at least in part, a cavity;    and-   the insulative portion of the terminal subassembly is attached    directly to a wall of the cage.

A9. The electrical connector of example A1, wherein the terminalsubassembly further comprises:

-   a plurality of cables having wires terminated to tails of the    conductive elements of the second type; and-   a shield member comprising a plurality of concave sections and a    plurality of flat sections;-   the plurality of concave sections are aligned with respective cables    of the plurality of cables and partially encircle the terminated    wires of the respective cables;-   the flat sections are attached to conductive elements of the    plurality of conductive elements adjacent to conductive elements to    which the wires of the plurality of cables are terminated.

A10. The electrical connector of example A9, wherein:

-   the plurality of cables comprise conductive layers surrounding the    wires; and-   the shield member comprises tabs pressing against the conductive    layers.

A11. The electrical connector of example A1, further comprising at leastone ground member configured to couple each conductive element of theplurality of conductive elements to a ground contact of a circuit board.

A12. The electrical connector of example A11, wherein the at least oneground member comprises at least one ground clip.

A13. The electrical connector of example A11, wherein the at least oneground member comprises at least one ground staple.

A14. The electrical connector of example A11, wherein the at least oneground member comprises at least one pressfit tail.

A15. The electrical connector of example A11, wherein the at least oneground member is configured to be bent around the terminal subassembly.

B1. An electrical connector, comprising:

-   a plurality of terminal subassemblies, each of the plurality of    terminal subassemblies comprising:    -   a plurality of conductive elements, wherein:        -   each conductive element of the plurality of conductive            elements comprises a contact portion, a contact tail and an            intermediate portion joining the contact portion and the            contact tail;        -   the contact portions of the plurality of conductive elements            are positioned in a row;        -   the plurality of conductive elements comprises conductive            elements of a first type and a second type;        -   the conductive elements of the first type have intermediate            portions with a 90 degree bend and contact tails configured            for attachment to a printed circuit board;        -   the conductive elements of the second type have contact            tails configured for a cable termination.

B2. The electrical connector of example B1, wherein the contact portionsof the plurality of conductive elements positioned in a row of theplurality of terminal subassemblies are arranged having a row directionparallel to a plane of the printed circuit board.

B3. The electrical connector of example B1, wherein:

the plurality of terminal subassemblies are configured to nest.

B4. The electrical connector of example B3, wherein:

the plurality of terminal subassemblies are configured such that thecontact tails of the second type of conductive elements of each of theplurality of terminal subassemblies form a two-dimensional arraycomprising a plurality of rows of contact tails parallel to thedirection of the rows of contact portions.

B5. The electrical connector of example B1, wherein:

-   the plurality of terminal subassemblies comprise insulative    overmolds; and-   the insulative overmolds have projections configured to engage a    cage.

B6. The electrical connector of example B1, further comprising at leastone ground member configured to couple each conductive element of theplurality of conductive elements to a ground contact of a circuit board.

B7. The electrical connector of example B6, wherein the at least oneground member comprises at least one ground clip.

B8. The electrical connector of example B6, wherein the at least oneground member comprises at least one ground staple.

B9. The electrical connector of example B6, wherein the at least oneground member comprises at least one pressfit tail.

B10. The electrical connector of example B6, wherein the at least oneground member is configured to be bent around the plurality of terminalsubassemblies.

C1. An electrical connector, comprising:

-   a plurality of terminal subassemblies, each of the plurality of    terminal subassemblies comprising:    -   a plurality of conductive elements, wherein:        -   each conductive element of the plurality of conductive            elements comprises a contact portion, a contact tail and an            intermediate portion joining the contact portion and the            contact tail;        -   the contact portions of the plurality of conductive elements            are positioned in a row extending in a direction from a            first side of the terminal subassembly towards a second side            of the terminal subassembly;-   a first conductive member and a second conductive member; wherein:    -   the first conductive member is disposed adjacent the first sides        of the plurality of terminal subassemblies and engages        conductive elements within the terminal subassemblies; and    -   the second conductive member is disposed adjacent the second        sides of the plurality of terminal subassemblies and engages        conductive elements within the terminal subassemblies.

C2. The electrical connector of example C1, wherein the contact portionsof the plurality of conductive elements positioned in a row are arrangedhaving a row direction parallel to a plane of the circuit board.

C3. The electrical connector of example C2, wherein at least one of thefirst conductive member or the second conductive member is arranged in aplane normal to the row direction.

C4. The electrical connector of example C1, wherein the first conductivemember and the second conductive member comprise a first arm of a singlemember and a second arm of the single member.

C5. The electrical connector of example C1, wherein the first conductivemember and the second conductive member comprise a first member and asecond member separate from the first member.

C6. The electrical connector of example C1, wherein:

-   the plurality of terminal subassemblies are disposed within a cage    comprising an engagement feature; and-   an engagement feature of at least one terminal subassembly of the    plurality of terminal subassemblies is engaged with the engagement    feature of the cage.

C7. The electrical connector of example C6, wherein the engagementfeature of the at least one terminal subassembly is fixed to theengagement feature of the cage.

C8. The electrical connector of example C6, wherein the engagementfeature of the cage comprises a slot and the engagement feature of theat least one terminal subassembly comprises a projection disposed in theslot.

C9. The electrical connector of example C6, wherein the engagementfeature of the at least one terminal subassembly comprises an insulativeportion of the at least one terminal subassembly.

C10. The electrical connector of example C6, wherein the engagementfeature comprises a portion of each terminal subassembly of theplurality of terminal subassemblies.

C11. The electrical connector of example C6, wherein:

-   the electrical connector is configured for a mating direction    orthogonal to a row direction from the first side of the terminal    subassembly towards the second side of the terminal subassembly;-   the engagement feature of the cage engages with the engagement    feature of the at least one terminal subassembly to constrain motion    of the plurality of terminal subassemblies in the mating direction;    and-   the engagement feature of the cage is a first engagement feature;-   the cage comprises a second engagement feature;-   the connector comprises an insulative member, coupled to the    terminal subassemblies, and the insulative member comprises a    further engagement feature; and-   the further engagement feature is engaged with the second engagement    feature to constrain motion of the plurality of terminal    subassemblies in a direction perpendicular to the mating direction    and the row direction.

C12. The electrical connector of example C11, wherein:

the insulative member, coupled to the terminal subassemblies, is anorganizer for the contact tails of the plurality of terminalsubassemblies.

D1. An input/output (I/O) connector, comprising:

-   a cage comprising a channel and at least one engagement feature;-   a plurality of terminal subassemblies, each of the plurality of    terminal subassemblies comprising:    -   a plurality of conductive elements, wherein:        -   each conductive element of the plurality of conductive            elements comprises a contact portion, a contact tail and an            intermediate portion joining the contact portion and the            contact tail;        -   the contact portions of the plurality of conductive elements            are positioned in a row;    -   an insulative portion holding the plurality of conductive        elements, wherein:    -   the plurality of terminal subassemblies engage the at least one        engagement feature of the cage such that the contact portions of        the plurality of terminal subassemblies are positioned at        predetermined locations within the at least one channel.

D2. The I/O connector of example D1, wherein:

-   the channel is elongated in a first direction; and-   the at least one engagement feature of the cage comprises a slot    that is elongated in a second direction, perpendicular to the first    direction.

D3. The I/O connector of example D2, wherein an engagement feature of atleast one terminal subassembly of the plurality of terminalsubassemblies comprises a projection disposed in the slot.

D4. The I/O connector of example D3, wherein the projection comprises aninsulative portion of the at least one terminal subassembly.

D5. The I/O connector of example D3, wherein the projection comprises aportion of each terminal subassembly of the plurality of terminalsubassemblies.

E1. An electrical connector, comprising:

-   a plurality of terminal subassemblies, each of the plurality of    terminal subassemblies comprising:    -   a plurality of conductive elements, wherein:        -   each conductive element of the plurality of conductive            elements comprises a contact portion, a contact tail and an            intermediate portion joining the contact portion and the            contact tail;        -   the contact portions of the plurality of conductive elements            are positioned in a row extending in a direction from a            first side of the terminal subassembly towards a second side            of the terminal subassembly;-   an alignment member comprising a first edge and a second edge;-   biasing members between the plurality of terminal subassemblies and    the alignment member wherein:    -   the biasing members are configured to urge surfaces of the        plurality of terminal subassemblies against the second edge of        the alignment member such that the plurality of terminal        subassemblies have a predetermined position with respect to the        alignment member.

E2. The electrical connector of example E1, wherein the biasing memberscomprise tabs extending from conductive elements in the plurality ofterminal subassemblies.

E3. The electrical connector of example E1, wherein the alignment membercomprises a portion of a stamped sheet of metal.

E4. The electrical connector of example E3, wherein the portion of thestamped sheet of metal comprises the first edge and the second edge.

E5. The electrical connector of example E1, wherein the first edge isnot parallel to the second edge.

Various aspects of the present invention may be used alone, incombination, or in a variety of arrangements not specifically discussedin the embodiments described in the foregoing and is therefore notlimited in its application to the details and arrangement of componentsset forth in the foregoing description or illustrated in the drawings.For example, aspects described in one embodiment may be combined in anymanner with aspects described in other embodiments.

Also, the invention may be embodied as a method, of which an example hasbeen provided. The acts performed as part of the method may be orderedin any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed inwhich acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, whichmay include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown assequential acts in illustrative embodiments.

Also, circuits and modules depicted and described may be reordered inany order, and signals may be provided to enable reordering accordingly.

Use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in theclaims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote anypriority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or thetemporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are usedmerely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain namefrom another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinalterm) to distinguish the claim elements.

All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood tocontrol over dictionary definitions, definitions in documentsincorporated by reference, and/or ordinary meanings of the definedterms.

The indefinite articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in thespecification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to thecontrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.”

As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “atleast one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should beunderstood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more ofthe elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including atleast one of each and every element specifically listed within the listof elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the listof elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally bepresent other than the elements specifically identified within the listof elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether relatedor unrelated to those elements specifically identified.

The phrase “and/or,” as used herein in the specification and in theclaims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements soconjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some casesand disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with“and/or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” ofthe elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be presentother than the elements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause,whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified.Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/or B”, when usedin conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer,in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other thanB); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elementsother than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionallyincluding other elements); etc.

As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should beunderstood to have the same meaning as “and/or” as defined above. Forexample, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and/or” shall beinterpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, butalso including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and,optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated tothe contrary, such as “only one of” or “exactly one of,” or, when usedin the claims, “consisting of,” will refer to the inclusion of exactlyone element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term “or”as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusivealternatives (i.e. “one or the other but not both”) when preceded byterms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or“exactly one of.” “Consisting essentially of,” when used in the claims,shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.

Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of“including,” “comprising,” “having,” “containing,” or “involving,” andvariations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listedthereafter (or equivalents thereof) and/or as additional items.

What is claimed is:
 1. A receptacle connector comprising: a housingconfigured to receive a mating connector; a plurality of conductiveelements coupled to the housing, wherein: each conductive element of theplurality of conductive elements comprises a contact portion, a contacttail and an intermediate portion joining the contact portion and thecontact tail; and the plurality of conductive elements comprises aplurality of first conductors and a plurality of second conductors; anda first conductive member comprising concave sections and secondsections, separate from the concave sections, wherein the concavesections are aligned with conductors of the plurality of firstconductors and the second sections are welded to conductors of theplurality of second conductors.
 2. The receptacle connector of claim 1,wherein: the second sections are welded to intermediate portions of theconductors of the plurality of second conductors.
 3. The receptacleconnector of claim 1, wherein: the plurality of first conductorscomprises a plurality of signal conductors; the plurality of secondconductors comprises a plurality of ground conductors; and the contactportions of the plurality of conductive elements are positioned in arow.
 4. The receptacle connector of claim 3, wherein: the plurality ofsignal conductors comprises a pair of signal conductors; a first of thesecond sections is welded to a first ground conductor of the pluralityof ground conductors on a first side of the pair of signal conductors;and a second of the second sections is welded to a second groundconductor of the plurality of ground conductors on a second side of thepair of signal conductors.
 5. The receptacle connector of claim 1,further comprising a second conductive member welded to conductors ofthe plurality of second conductors.
 6. The receptacle connector of claim5, wherein: the first conductive member comprises a shield; and thesecond conductive member comprises a shorting bar.
 7. The receptacleconnector of claim 5, wherein: the contact portions of the plurality ofconductive elements are positioned in a row along a row direction; therow direction in perpendicular to an insertion direction of thereceptacle connector; and the first conductive member and the secondconductive member are spaced along the insertion direction.
 8. Thereceptacle connector of claim 1, wherein: the receptacle connectorcomprises a plurality of first conductive members elongated in a firstdirection; the first conductive member is one of the plurality of firstconductive members; and the receptacle connector further comprises atleast one ground member elongated in a second direction perpendicular tothe first direction and engaging each of the plurality of firstconductive members.
 9. The receptacle connector of claim 1, wherein: theplurality of conductive elements comprises conductive elements of afirst type and a second type; the conductive elements of the first typehave intermediate portions that bend through 90 degrees and contacttails configured for attachment to a printed circuit board; and theconductive elements of the second type have contact tails configured fora cable termination.
 10. The receptacle connector of claim 9, wherein:the conductive elements of the second type have straight intermediateportions.
 11. An electrical connector comprising: one or more terminalgroups, wherein each terminal group of the one or more terminal groupscomprises: a plurality of conductive elements, wherein: each conductiveelement of the plurality of conductive elements comprises a contactportion, a contact tail and an intermediate portion joining the contactportion and the contact tail; and the plurality of conductive elementscomprises a plurality of first conductors and a plurality of secondconductors, wherein a first conductive member is welded to conductors ofthe plurality of second conductors; and wherein a second conductivemember is welded to conductors of the plurality of second conductors.12. The electrical connector of claim 11, wherein: at least one of thefirst conductive member or the second conductive member is welded tointermediate portions of conductors of the plurality of secondconductors.
 13. The electrical connector of claim 11, wherein: theplurality of first conductors comprises a plurality of signalconductors; the plurality of second conductors comprises a plurality ofground conductors; and the contact portions of the plurality ofconductive elements are positioned in a row.
 14. The electricalconnector of claim 13, wherein, for at least one terminal group of theone or more terminal groups: the first conductive member comprisesconcave sections and flat portions; the concave sections are alignedwith conductors of the plurality of signal conductors; and the flatportions are welded to conductors of the plurality of ground conductors.15. The electrical connector of claim 14, wherein for the at least oneterminal group of the one or more terminal groups: the plurality ofsignal conductors comprises a pair of signal conductors; a first flatportion of the flat portions is welded to a first ground conductor ofthe plurality of ground conductors on a first side of the pair of signalconductors; and a second flat portion of the flat portions is welded toa second ground conductor of the plurality of ground conductors on asecond side of the pair of signal conductors.
 16. The electricalconnector of claim 11, wherein for each terminal group of the one ormore terminal groups: the first conductive member comprises a shield;and the second conductive member comprises a shorting bar.
 17. Theelectrical connector of claim 11, wherein for each terminal group of theone or more terminal groups: the contact portions of the plurality ofconductive elements are positioned in a row along a row direction; therow direction in perpendicular to an insertion direction of theelectrical connector; and the first conductive member and the secondconductive member are spaced along the insertion direction.
 18. Theelectrical connector of claim 11, further comprising at least one groundmember configured to electrically couple together ground conductors ofthe one or more terminal groups.
 19. The electrical connector of claim11, wherein for at least one terminal group of the one or more terminalgroups: the plurality of conductive elements comprises conductiveelements of a first type and a second type; the conductive elements ofthe first type have intermediate portions that bend through 90 degreesand contact tails configured for attachment to a printed circuit board;and the conductive elements of the second type have contact tailsconfigured for a cable termination.
 20. The electrical connector ofclaim 19, wherein, for the at least one terminal group of the one ormore terminal groups: the conductive elements of the second type havestraight intermediate portions.